Stargate Millennium: Into The Void
by StargateMillennium
Summary: A new spin-off series: The distress beacon of a Tau'ri ship is detected in the galaxy of Caldwell 70 and Wolf Pack and company is sent to investigate. To uncover what happened, they'll have to brave the void of space. As they'll soon find out, problems that aren't solved will come back to haunt you.
1. Chapter 1

Huge bronze-colored buildings, pearly-white towers, and golden sky scrapers stretching toward the sky, vertical cities in the distance that made up the skyline, and four other cities she can look down upon in the distance, and glowing golden clouds surrounding the entire thing. With all the running around she's been doing lately, she never got around to appreciating the very city she inhabited.

Terra Nova let out a satisfied sigh. She just wanted to enjoy the view but she had to report for duty. She walked up to the ark behind her. The arks were the furling's, a doorway that linked to points in space. She punched in the destination into the touch pad in the wall next to the doorway. The sliding doors then opened, revealing the control room on the other side. She was across the entire city, but the ark had connected the two buildings together through space. There wasn't even a wormhole. It was as if they were adjacent rooms, and she walked right on through.

She was still in her pink T-shirt and jeans but she could quickly get changed once she got her assignment.

"Incoming wormhole! Sealing barrier."

Nova heard those words echo across the gate room as the familiar blue wormhole filled the silver stargate. The gate room was filled with the heavy stomping as soldiers flooded into the chamber, taking up defensive positions. A shimmering beam of light passed over the stargate, a massive stone slab materializing over the wormhole.

For Major Terra Nova, this was just a regular part of her day. The stargate was opening once more to let a team back home. But this time, it was not her team that was returning. She jogged up the stairs into the control room, the heart of stargate operations. It was from here the iconic piece of alien technology was operated. It was also here General William Mercer, leader of their expedition, was. She watched the old man walk up to Donavan, curious what the news was.

"We're getting the Dusk Rider's IDC," Donavan reported.

"Raise the barrier," Mercer immediately ordered.

The Dusk Riders. Close friends of not just her but her entire team. Their return did not comfort Nova. The Dusk Riders weren't supposed to report in for another hour which meant something went wrong. She watched as the shimmering beam of light appeared again, sweeping over the stone slab and dematerializing it, the shimmering blue wormhole exposed to the open air again.

She walked up to the edge of the balcony, staring at the glimmering wormhole, listening to its familiar warble.

Suddenly, a spear flew from the wormhole, hitting the gate room floor with a clatter. Immediately, the guards in the room readied their rifles, prepared to gun down any enemy that came through the gate.

Even from the control room, Nova recognized the design of the spear.

"General, it's skadrum!" Nova yelled.

"What, the teddy-bears?!" Donavan asked.

Nova had to scoff at the label 'teddy bear'. These things were as far from teddy bears as an alien could get.

There was a loud yell as Dannick suddenly leapt through the gate, skidding to a halt in the middle of the gate room, Ruger pistol in hand.

"They're right behind me!" Dannick yelled. Nova couldn't tell if he meant the Dusk Riders of the skadrum.

A moment later, McFree came barreling through the wormhole, diving to the floor as an orange bolt of energy streaked past him. Several of the soldiers dove for cover as the shot hit the wall and exploded in a shower of sparks.

"Jenny and Umar are on their way!" he yelled, glancing worriedly at the gate.

"Dusk Rider, move back behind the line," Mercer boomed from the control room, his voice almost impossibly loud for someone his age. Upon command, Dannick and McFree quickly scurried behind the black and yellow warning tape on the floor.

Finally, Hailey and Umar leapt through the gate leaping over the line as another spear flew out of the gate.

"Lock it up!" Umar roared.

"Activate the tacs," Mercer ordered. "Seal the barrier."

Donavan obeyed immediately. And good thing to. The skadrum came through the gate, a massive hunched humanoid ball of black fur, its rabid red eyes peering through its thick coat. It had just come through the shimmering puddle when a storm of crimson bolts of energy descended from the ceiling; the tacs in the ceiling opening fire, perforating the beast. It soon fell but not before it managed to fire the crossbow in its paws.

"Commander!" Hailey yelled. Nova had just barely blinked but the next thing she knew, there was an arrow in Umar's stomach.

"Medical team to the gate room," Donavan called through the speakers.

The pounding of things hitting the barrier echoed through the room but it was safe. Nova rushed down the stairs to Umar's side. She and Hailey helped the man to his knees. He reached over to yank the arrow out but Hailey immediately seized his arm.

"Do that and you'll end up pulling out your own organs," she said. Umar gave an irritated groan as the medics rushed in. The next hours minutes were a blur as the medics moved Umar to the operation room. She and Hailey watched as the doctors removed the arrow, carefully cutting it in half and gently removing the front end through the exit wound. They put the arrow on a tray to be taken to be studied while Umar was stitched up and rolled way to the infirmary.

And Umar's reaction to all this?

"How in the hell are you smiling?" Nova asked in front of his hospital bed.

"Men tend to be happy when they survive getting shot," the Nigerian Wing Commander replied casually.

"Maybe. But men tend to be much happier when they don't get shot at all."

Umar gave a chuckle at Nova's statement, but had to stop himself as he clung to his wound in pain.

"Damn skadrum," he cursed as he laid back down.

"Didn't you guys run into them before?" Hailey asked Nova.

"Once, on a routine mission," Terra Nova answered. "As it turns out, having an entire society of warriors doesn't really get you far as a civilization. All their weapons that aren't swords and spears were stolen. Corin says they've been in a dark age for several decades and would probably have gone extinct by this point if they didn't have the stargate and a very high reproductive rate."

"You mean we just got chased off a planet by a bunch of horny space Care Bears," Hailey said flatly, thinking of the bear-like beasts.

"We survived so there's no need to hold a grudge," Umar said. "Major Hailey, Doctor Dannick and McFree were here earlier and I chose to give them the rest of the day off. You may do the same."

"Thanks, Commander, but I think I'll stay on active duty," Hailey said. "I actually want to be part of this next mission."

"Next mission?" Nova repeated, looking at Hailey and Umar curiously. "What are you guys talking about?"

Nova remembered that her team was not the flagship team of the Millennium Expedition. The Dusk Riders were. But, if something should happen and the Dusk Riders can't, it falls to Wolf Pack to do it in their place. Umar was about to explain the new task but Hailey cut him off.

"You'll be debriefed soon enough," she said, patting Nova on the back. "Don't want to ruin the surprise."

"You still have to request General Mercer attach you to Wolf Pack," Umar reminded Hailey. Umar then looked past the two women. He made a quick gesture and the two of them glanced behind them, spotting the guards at the entrance to the infirmary. Wolf Pack was being called.

-.-

"Let me get this straight," Chen muttered in a flat tone. "So you found an alien artifact…had no idea what it does…and you just decide to turn it on?!"

Felger tried to stutter out an explanation, glancing at the marble obelisk, its blue veins of energy pulsating like it had a heartbeat.

"I didn't have _no_ idea what it was," Felger stuttered out, glancing at the pearly white spire, which was barely the height of a desk. "The archaeologists said the writing on it says 'rain shield', and I know how important it is to keep the equipment dry."

Chen looked around the base camp set up. They were there digging up alien artifacts and needed to keep the excavation site as dry as possible. They had brought along tarps and other things in case it ever started raining. And they learned in the first two days how badly the downpour could get. Lately, however, it never did. A lot of lightning. A lot of thunder. But no rain.

"Felger, look at that thing," Chen groaned, pointing to the shimmering blue sphere of energy at the top of the spire. "Who's supposed to get shielded from rain with that? The ants?"

Felger tried to stutter out an explanation but didn't know what to say about the fist-size bubble.

"Felger," Chen barked impatiently. "Turn the rain shield off before we all die of alien radiation poisoning or something."

With a disappointed sigh, Felger reached over and pressed on a golden dome on the side of the obelisk, the glowing orb of energy at the top vanishing. Chen gave a satisfied nod and was about to walk away when, suddenly, a wall of rain came plummeting from the sky.

"Rain shield on, rain shield on!" Chen yelled as he and Felger made a mad dash for the artifact. They both pressed the golden dome, the blue bubble reforming and, after a few seconds, the rain stopped.

They both looked at the shield in shock, the device that had single handedly stopped the rain. Chen glanced at Felger, who had a smile as if to say 'I told you so'.

Chen could only sigh at the man's antics. He certainly has come a long way from the complete screw up he was before. Still, he had a long way to go. They were mostly keeping him out of the way and taking advantage of his ideas. But it would be a while before was ready to do work on his own.

"Doctor Chen," a voice called out, catching the two's attention. They both spotted a man running up to them. "Doctor Chen. General Mercer's calling you back to Millennium."

"Did he say why?" Chen called back in annoyance. "Really getting sick of just being hauled around everywhere lately."

"No, he only said to get you back to Millennium," the man said. Chen grumbled to himself. He was likely off on another science expedition with some other team of know-nothing-know-it-alls.

"Alright, I'll get my stuff," Chen huffed. He had just begun to walk away when Felger called out to him.

"What should do in the meantime?"

"Find something easy to do!" Chen called back. "Then wait for me to come back and do it for you."

-.-

"Left hall, Corin! Left hall!"

"I got the front door covered."

"Bomber!"

In the grand city of Millennium, people have found plenty of ways to pass the time. For Charles Martin and Corin Nevec, they had settled themselves in a lounge, the loud clacking of their game controller as loud as the game they were playing.

Suddenly, Charles through his hands up in frustration. Not long after, Corin did the same, the words 'FAILURE' flashing on their screens.

"Hey," Corin said, giving Martin a nudge with his elbow. "I thought you had the left hall covered."

"I did," Martin grumbled in exaggerated annoyance.

"You miss your shots?"

"No. I was so accurate I hit the stair rails in front of them." The explanation had Corin laughing. "Gah, I'm picking someone else; playing sniper sucks," Martin said, picking up the controller. "I'll try Thermite. You switching classes?"

"Nah, I'll stick with Fuze."

They had both picked up their controllers when a knock at the doorway caught their attention.

"Lieutenant Martin," the guard said at the door way said. "Professor Nevec. You're both being summoned."

-.-

Nova rushed through the ark as its doors opened to the conference room.

"Sorry I'm late," she panted, jogging through. Normally she was one of the first ones here. But, from the looks of it, she had taken too long changing into her uniform and everyone had beaten her by at least ten minutes. Soren was in the corner of the conference room, his arms crossed and leaned against a wall. Jennifer Hailey was standing around the U-shaped conference table, waiting for instructions. Steven Chen and Kara Osborn were sitting on one side of the table while Charles Martin and Samanya Arcturus were sitting on the other. It was obvious all of them were called on short notice. Samanya still wore her white dress shirt with blue skirt. Kara Osborn was still in her lab coat and Soren was in the black trench coat he was always seen in now.

"Hey, you're not the only one late," Corin Nevec remarked, walking up to Nova. "You know what the General wants us for?" Nova could only shrug.

"Some big mission," she remarked, scanning the room. "Originally the Dusk Rider's were going to take it up Umar got hurt."

"Is he ok?" Corin asked worriedly.

"Yeah, he just took an arrow to the gut. He'll be back on his feet in two days. We're supposed to take their mission."

"Couldn't Jennifer just take charge?"

Nova just shrugged at this question.

"Must be something big," she said. "He even called Soren and Arcturus."

Nova looked at the two alien additions to the expedition. Corin and Arcturus may have been human but Soren clearly wasn't. Short, stocky, no hair on his body except for his mustache, all fierri looked like humanoids with their heads fused to their body. While Corin was their resident cultural expert, Arcturus and Soren were combat specialists.

"If he's called those two then it's probably some sort of combat operation," Corin concluded, putting his hand to his chin.

"It wouldn't be only combat," Nova said. "You're an archaeologist. General Mercer wouldn't call you if it was a purely combat operation."

Nova looked around again, watching Martin chat it up with Arcturus.

"Looks like Sam's made herself at home here," Nova remarked, giving Corin a light nudge. Corin smirked at the observation. Martin's mouth was running along with his exaggerated hand gestures. But Samanya Arcturus wasn't the chatty type. But Corin knew she enjoyed Martin's company and listened attentively. They were about to continue talking when the sound of the ark door opening caught everyone's attention.

The conference room was right next to the control room. This was a busy place so the ark doors was a common sound. It could've been a technician. It could've been a guard. It could've been another member who was summoned by General Mercer. But, somehow everyone knew that the sound of the ark doors was the sound of the arrival of General Mercer himself.

The aging man paused at the entryway, his large mustache twitching as he examined the room.

"So we're all here," he said calmly, walking to his position at the opposite end of the U-shaped table. Nova watched him carefully as he placed a stack of folders on the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen," General Mercer said loudly, setting up the laptop in his arms on the table. "At 0800 yesterday, we detected a sub-space transmission coming from an empty quadrant of space. We have been able to successfully identify it as the distress beacon for the FF 305 Typhon." Mercer clicked a remote and the crystal screen behind him filled with color until a familiar ship appeared on screen.

Immediately all the faces in the room lit up. The only ones that didn't were Corin, Soren, and Samanya. And Mercer could see that. All three of them were the aliens who never been to Earth.

"Major Hailey and Doctor Chen helped construct the Typhon," Mercer said. "Perhaps they would like to explain."

Hailey and Chen exchanged glances obviously somewhat bewildered at suddenly being placed on the stand.

"Well, Earth's had two classes of starship," Hailey explained. "We've had the outdated BC-303 and its successor, the BC-304. Something we realized while exploring the galaxy is that every new enemy we make is more powerful than the last. And we also faced the issue that we were always outnumbered. The Typhon was the response to that. It's more lightly armored but-"

"Lightly armored?" Martin exclaimed. "How light?"

"Well…" Hailey began, her voice trailing off.

"Let's just say the Prometheus could survive more of a pounding," Chen said. "Shields are also weaker."

"How weak?" Nova asked. She may have served on the Typhon for a mission but she didn't know the ship's specifications.

Chen made a gesture as if to say to refer to his previous analogy.

"You're kidding…" Nova said, her jaw dropped. She expected the next ships to be even bigger and badder than the one before, not weaker.

"Look," Hailey said, taking over. "She might not be as hardy as the previous models but her weapons are state of the art."

Hailey got up from her chair and went over to the laptop on the table. Mercer slid back and let Hailey do her thing as Chen took over explaining.

"The Typhon's a stealth frigate. Unfortunately, stealth in space boarders on impossible and even with our magical reality-warping cloaking device there are still some things we needed to patch. The only time we've managed to cloak something as large and energy-producing as a starship was with a ZPM. The Typhon is smaller in size so it's easier to extend a cloaking field around. Its smaller size also means it uses less energy and when it goes into stealth mode its crew turns off non-critical systems to further reduce its energy signature and lessen stuff for the cloak to mask."

"I also designed the Hephaestus core," Hailey spoke up. "Once activated, it acts like a heat sink. It absorbs all the heat from the engine so it minimizes the Typhon's energy emissions. In the past, races with Ancient technology have been able to detect cloaked ships by increasing the sensitivity of the sensors to pick up any residual energy signatures leaking through. With the Hephaestus core, we can completely mask it."

"For a period of time, at least," Chen added. "The Hephaestus Core can only absorb a certain amount of heat before we have to turn it off. Then we start glowing like a halogen bulb since we have to release all the built up heat. We also created an armament of torpedoes just so it can fight while cloaked."

"Torpedoes," Martin repeated. "You mean missiles."

Hailey gave a weak chuckle at Martin's reaction.

"It's a terminology gimmick," Hailey explained. "In atmosphere, torpedoes are self-propelled submerged guided munitions."

"She means the difference between a missile and a torpedo is the first one flies through air and the other goes through water," Chen translated bluntly.

"For space combat, we, or rather 'they' since I'm not on the team anymore, were talking about using the term missile to describe self-propelled guided munitions with accelerations higher than an average ship and torpedo to describe ones with accelerations on par with the average ship."

"You mean they go slower?" Martin asked with a dropped jaw, his disappointment obvious for all to hear.

"The original intention was to have cloaks for each missile so it can fire them while cloaked. Unfortunately, it was not economically feasible to make so many cloaks. So, we tried to do it the old-fashioned way." She clicked the remote again and the diagram of a missile, or rather torpedo, appeared on screen. "It's slower because we're using cold gas propulsion which isn't as efficient, but it does take away most of the heat that it would generate. And we don't need it to be invisible to the naked eye, just invisible to their sensors. The MKII cloaking device is much cheaper to make will mask the rest of its heat and EM."

"Fascinating presentation, Major," Mercer said flatly. "But perhaps we can get back to the mission briefing."

Hailey gave a nervous "oh yeah", as she quickly clicked the remote to show several schematics showed up on the screen including the ship's floor plan. Away from the torpedoes and back to the ship itself.

"And you said you detected its distress signal?" Nova asked.

"One of the original intentions for the Typhon was to send it to assist the Millennium Expedition," Mercer explained. "Atlantis had the Daedalus. We would have the Typhon. It is apparent they have succeeded in delivering the ship but it appears they have run into trouble. Either the crew have been incapacitated or their hyperdrive is down. Either way, we must lend them assistance."

"General Mercer," Arcturus spoke up, her posture composed as usual. "Could you bring up the star map of the region of space where the signal originated?"

Mercer gave Hailey a nod and she quickly typed something into the computer. A moment later, an image of the galaxy map appeared on the screen. It wasn't any special to anyone who wasn't familiar with how to read the specifics of galaxy maps. It just showed some dots representing stars, random lines, and labels around some of the points.

"Oh boy," Corin sighed upon seeing the map. Even Arcturus's face stiffened.

"That's on the edge of Damacan space," Arcturus said sternly.

"Another superpower?" Martin asked.

"Not really," Corin explained. "A while back, the Harvesters began expanding its territory. All nations in its path evacuated its citizens. The Damacans had to evacuate all of their planets and relocated their entire civilization to that system. What the Damacans didn't know was that the system technically belonged to the Vorg Dominion. The Vorg had miscalculated the Harvester's expansion and evacuated their outlying systems. As you can imagine, it didn't go well when the Vorg came back and found their system settled by the Damacans."

"Can't they just share the planet?" Nova asked.

"The place is overpopulated. There is no way to share."

"How does this relate to us?" Hailey asked.

"The Damacans and the Vorg have been at war for over a hundred years. Around fifty years ago, a new leadership came into power. New leadership meant to policies. They quadrupled their military size and developed a no-outsiders policy."

"Meaning?" Martin asked.

"Meaning they will destroy any foreign ships that enter their territory," Hailey translated sternly. "Rendering the Typhon assistance in that location will be dangerous."

"You said they were on the edge, right?" Nova spoke up. "Can we just fly it past the edge before helping?"

"Won't help much," Arcturus said. "The other side of the edge is the what we call the Null Zone. It's unclaimed space patrolled by pirates, home to spacefaring animals, and competed for by multiple nations."

"A no man's land," Martin muttered to himself upon hearing the description.

"You can decide your course of action after you reach the ship," Mercer said impatiently.

"Yeah, about that," Chen spoke up. "Are we supposed to just fly ourselves over there or something? Cuz the ships kinda in the middle of nowhere. Like, are all of us supposed to grab a dragonfly?"

"That is already covered," Mercer said, clicking the remote again. An image of a ship appeared on screen, a roughly box-shaped body with large forward swept wings by the cockpit, and a pair of pylons at the back forming the tail with tilt-engines attached to either one at the side.

"The fierri call it a Sleipnir-class utility ship," Mercer said. "It's the latest technology that's come out of their Valgrind Operations. Among its capabilities include assault, scouting, logistics, and transport. It was made specifically to be able to travel through the stargate."

"General," Lieutenant Martin spoke up. "That thing is way too big to fit through the stargate."

Mercer made no response. He simply clicked the remote and a video of the ship appeared on the screen, a video that showed the wings of the ship folding down into its body and its engines being retracted beneath the pylons that held it. It wasn't pretty but the resulting ship was now roughly the sie of a puddle jumper.

"We've identified a space gate relatively close to the Typhon," Mercer continued explaining. "The fierri agreed to help transport us to the Typhon so long as we share any technical knowledge about the ship afterwards."

"Then it's decided," Nova said. "Wolf Pack will go help repair the Typhon with Major Jennifer Hailey."

"That decision is not up to you," Mercer reminded Nova, his eyes narrowing. "Nevertheless, I have agreed to let Major Hailey join you on this operation accompanied by Stavig and Arcturus." Nova gave Mercer a confused look. Having Corin come along despite not having any technical skill made sense. He was still part of Wolf Pack. But she couldn't figure out why he would have Soren and Samanya join them. Those two were only called for the toughest combat missions.

"Any questions?" Mercer asked. Nova had more than a few but she chose to stay silent. When no one spoke up, Mercer gave the order. "Dismissed."

Stargate Millennium

The locker rooms were filled with activity for the next fifteen minutes as her team and their entourage prepared for the mission. Nova quickly got geared up and walked outside the locker rooms. The two were right across from each other so she was able wait outside both of them.

She watched as people filed out of the locker rooms, dressed in their black BDU's.

"Psst," Nova hissed to Chen as he left the locker rooms. He looked at her in confusion. They both still needed to grab their weapons from the armory.

"What is it, Terra?" he asked back. Nova looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. Arcturus and Martin had already passed by. But she still needed to call over a few more people.

"Hailey," Nova hissed as the second-in-command of the Dusk Riders came out of the locker rooms. She looked at Terra in confusion, then at Chen for answers but he could only shrug.

"Hey, guys," Nova whispered. "Did, Mercer talk to you about anything before this?"

Hailey and Chen all shook their heads.

"So I'm not the only ones who found that strange," Hailey said. "Like, I knew he had a mission but General Mercer shouldn't have been able to make some of the decisions like that without consulting the Department Heads. He'd have to call for a meeting."

"You think he had it without our knowledge?" Chen suggested

"He didn't," Nova whispered. "I was watching Twilight with Louvisa and Charlie for the past four hours."

Chen felt his face sag.

"What?" Nova asked when she saw Chen's expression.

"You like Twilight?" he coughed. "I'm glad you're dropping your emo loner streak but…Twilight?!"

"I…think it's cute."

"You think it's cute…" Chen repeated, blinking several times. "I think I lost all respect for you…"

"Back on topic," Hailey interrupted. "Doctor Chen, do you know if Doctor Osborn was called to any meeting."

"No," Chen said, shaking his head. "I asked her before we went to the locker rooms."

"What's he playing at?" Hailey muttered. "Technically he has the authority to make decisions like this but he's never done it before. He always consulted the Department Heads."

Nova exchanged glances with all her friends. The image of the old man's eyes glowing flashed in her mind. It had been a while since Mercer's nature had been an issue. They thought they had left this whole conspiracy theory thing behind.

"Oi!" a voice shouted down the hall. The four of them looked in the direction of the voice to see Kara Osborn waving her hand. "You lot gonna come or what?"

-.-

Eight people. Wolf Pack plus Hailey, Doctor Osborn, Soren, and Arcturus.

The Valgrind Operations room on the fierri homeworld was packed. The guards with their rifles and round shields stood down once they confirmed it was an ally that came through. That left eight people and a team of guards packed into the chamber. Soren was wearing the metal fierri scout armor, a metal curiass with greaves and gauntlets, with a black long coat over it. Arcturus was back in her Aurox armor, a full-body plate armor with a dark navy-blue long coat. The only thing she was missing was her helmet.

"Major Nova!" Crux greeted, jogging into the room. "Major Hailey. Good to see you two again." It was good seeing a familiar face, especially in a new location. Only Hailey and Chen had gone back to Valken and been in Valgrind Operations, so the polished gray chamber with golden glowing orbs attached to the walls and overhanging control room was new to her.

"Hey, it's the pinkies again," Iado called out, appearing from the crowd of Valken Royal Guards and joining his superior officer.

"Iado will join you in helping you reach your ship," Crux explained. "As per our agreement, you are to share any technical knowledge on the ship afterwards."

Nova exchanged glances with Hailey. They both knew Mercer likely made this arrangement. They didn't have any problems with it but they would've preferred to be let in on it.

"Is there an issue?" Crux asked upon seeing Nova's and Hailey's expressions.

"No, it's fine," Nova answered. "Is your ship ready?"

"Ready and waiting," Iado said. "Here, this way."

Nova and Hailey both nodded.

"Wolf Pack, roll out!" Nova called.

They all filed out of the room behind Crux and Iado. Soren was one of the last to follow. He just watched as everyone else filed out.

"Hey," Corin said, putting a hand on Soren's shoulder. "You ok with this?"

Soren just glanced at Corin, the same stiff expression on his face he always had.

"This place holds nothing but bad memories," Soren said. "It means nothing to me now." Corin looked at Soren skeptically. The brooding man simply walked away. Corin sighed and finally followed.

-.-

The walk was not a long one. The group took the stairs up a few levels to a large chamber above the gate room.

"Here she is," Crux announced as they stepped in. One by one, the lights came on, the warm glow filling the chamber, pulling back the curtains that covered the blue marble ship inside. Its wings were retracted and folded downward and its engines had been pulled back under its tail so now it was the height and width of a puddle jumper but still longer. Though, it looked the like the crew had gotten a little fancy and took the liberty of painting a mouth with sharp teeth on red eyes around the cockpit, which made Nova think of the head of a dragon or some other monster. The chair the pilot would sit in was attached to the 'bottom jaw', and the mouth would close, lifting the pilot into the cockpit.

Looking around, it looked like there were four others in bays around the chamber, all ready to take on passengers.

"We've been using these for expeditions through space gates," Iado explained. "We'll transport you out to the Typhon and you guys can help them."

Everyone stared up at the ship. It was certainly more impressive up close.

"Bloody sweet," Martin muttered, immediately stepping out to examine the ship, his expression not much different than a kid laying eyes on a real-life dinosaur. "What sort of guns does this thing have?!"

"Sleipnir-class ships are utility craft designed to fill several roles rather than be dedicated to just one," Crux explained. "They aren't meant for fighting but they do carry twin god-slayer cannons and apocrypha rockets."

"And what do those do?" Chen asked keenly, now looking around as if he was trying to find where the weapons were.

"Well, let's just put it this way," Iado laughed. "We used the god-slayer cannons once, trying to cover a ground team from a jungle tyrant. We got a very long talk about deforestation."

"Regardless," Crux interrupted. "The round trip will nearly expend the Alfa's power supply. Once you are on board, it will need to return back to the gate."

"Across Damacan space," Arcturus remarked crossing her arms. "Would it not be prudent to have the ship dock inside the Typhon?"

"The Typhon doesn't have any dedicated hangar bays," Hailey explained. "I guess we could squeeze it into the cargo hold but that's just about it."

"We'll see," Iado said with a smile. "We'll show your ours if you show us yours."

-.-

"Command, this is starship Alfa, requesting permission to launch."

"Affirmative, Alfa. Stargate dialing sequence completed. Opening bay doors."

The ceiling to the gate room began to retract. Metal slid against metal as the door was pulled back, a large ship hovering in the air. The ship began to descend, slowly lowering itself. Dust on the ground was kicked up by the vertical engines holding the ship up, the push weak enough that the ship slowly drifted downward until it was barely above the ground, right in front of the stargate. Its tilt engines couldn't rotate to help it hover while it was retracted but it still could act as rear thrusters, humming with power, flaring up as the ship prepared for launch. The fierri in the control room watched the ship, going through everything to make sure everything was ready.

"Command, this is Alfa. We are ready for launch."

"Confirmed. Alfa, you are clear for launch."

The engines on the ship fired, the vessel plunging into the shimmering event horizon of the gate and vanishing through it, a thick cloud of dust kicked up behind it.

-.-

There was a reason it was called the void of space. Out in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing. The black canvas was sprinkled with tiny white points, the stars so far away that the only modicum of light that could be seen were these tiny dots. The glow of the active gate was overshadowed by the glow of the planet and its sun in the distance.

Faster than a man can blink, a shuttle streaked through the gate and into the distance. The moment it cleared the gate, its wings extended and its engines slid back into place. Inside, its occupants were all sitting around the compartments of the ship. Some were sitting on the chairs lining the walls. Others were just leaning against the walls. Chen was even sitting against the wall.

"So…now what?" Kara asked, looking around.

"Now we wait," Hailey said. "This was the closest solar system to the Typhon but it's still a good distance away."

"There's no such thing as maximum velocity in space," one of the fierri pilots said.

"Light speed!" Martin called out. The fierri pilot paused to rethink his statement.

"You don't have to worry about a maximum velocity in space," the pilot corrected. "Unlike atmospheric travel, we don't have any air resistance to slow us down so we can just keep accelerating."

"We're just going to set a course for the ship and keep accelerating," Iado explained. "But it's still going to be a while before we reach it."

"So sit tight and make yourselves comfy," the pilot added. "This is going to take a while."

-.-

Speed was constantly picking up, but with the inertial dampeners nothing could be felt. The pilots maintained their course while the occupants lounged around. Arcturus had gone to the back of ship and gotten on her knees to meditate. Soren leaned against one of the walls, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Chen and Hailey slept in the chairs, leaning against each other. Osborn was up by the cockpit, eagerly talking with the pilots. Martin was still on the floor, snoozing away with Corin sleeping in the chair next to him, actually using his sleeping form as a foot rest.

The only one up and about was Nova, who was pacing from the back to the front of the ship.

"We there yet?" she asked. She looked up toward the cockpit when she got no response. The pilots and Doctor Osborn were still chatting.

"So you're telling me it actually grows out of a decapitated body?"

"I'm telling ya, I saw it happen. I blew its head off and the next thing I knew, the body had this weird tentacle growing out of its stump!"

Nova cleared her throat loudly, finally getting the attention of Osborn and the pilot.

"Oh, hey Nova," Kara greeted cheerfully.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Terra said

"Nah. We were just talking about the Spore Infection. It makes the thing Lieutenant Martin calls the 'space zombie'."

"Wait, I know this one," Nova interrupted. "Martin talks about it all the time. It's called the…" Nova paused, snapping her fingers as she tried to recall the conversation. "It's a…it's the cordy-something."

"You're thinking cordyceps," Kara Osborn said, filling in the blanks. "They may behave similarly but cordyceps can only infect specific species of insects. Spore would have to be drastically different biologically in order to infect complex organisms. Did you know that in the later stages of infection, hyphae will actually grow out of the open wounds?"

Nova gave Osborn a disturbed look.

"Fascinating…" the Major said unenthusiastically. "Are we there yet?"

"Oh, funny you should ask that," the pilot said. He punched a few buttons and a screen appeared on the HUD. "You should wake the others up. We'll be there in a few minutes."

Nova nodded. She looked down and spotted Iado sitting against the wall, fast asleep.

"Hey," Nova hissed, gently nudging him with her foot. He groaned as he woke up, looking up at Nova in annoyance.

"We're here?" he mumbled.

"We're here," she said. Iado mumbled as he rose to his feet. He reached over and took a metal round shield off the wall.

"Well, guess we better wake everyone up," Iado said. Nova took a step forward to do just that but Iado cut her off. "Allow me." Iado took a step forward, pulling his sword from its sheath before clanging his sword against the metal shield. Nova had to cover her ears as the entire cabin was filled with metal bangs that echoed and reverberated through the ship, rippling across her skin and vibrating her ear drum. Soren and Arcturus both calmly opened their eyes but everyone else jumped up in shock. Hailey bolted up so quickly Chen was practically thrown to the floor. Corin leapt up, running face first into Martin.

At the front, Iado was snickering in amusement. Nova and Osborn both looked at him in disapproval.

"I am assuming that we are here," Arcturus spoke up. The alien warrior spoke with the same level-headedness she always did but Nova could still sense her agitation from the wake up call.

"That we are," the pilot announced.

-.-

Out in the cold of space, there was no light. There was nothing to illuminate anything in it. The only light now came from the spotlights on the Alfa.

"There she is," Hailey muttered as the vessel came into view, the lights peeling back the darkness of the massive figure in front of them. Everyone was crowded at the front, trying to sneak a peek at the ship, a looming mechanical behemoth so big that spotlights could only illuminate small parts of the ship at a time.

"It's a lot smaller than I hoped," Osborn muttered. The FF-305 may have been huge in comparison to them, but it was only a fraction of the size of the BC-304. It was the same general shape as its predecessors but it was two thirds the length, the neck of the ship was considerably shorter, and it lacked the hangars the 304's had.

The fierri pilot reached forward and pressed a button.

"Typhon, this is fierri ship Alfa receiving your distress signal and arriving to render aid. Requesting permission to board. Over."

Nothing.

"Typhon do you copy?"

"Here," Hailey said, leaning forward. "Typhon, this is Major Jennifer Hailey. The fierri are our allies. I have arrived with Major Nova and Wolf Pack. Please, respond."

Hailey paused, but there was no response. Iado and the pilot looked at her in confusion and she could only shrug.

"What now?" Nova asked Hailey.

"Well, whatever you do, do it fast," the pilot said. "We're approaching our Point of no return. We've expended almost half our energy getting here," the pilot explained. "If we stay here too long, I'm going to have trouble getting back to the space gate in a timely fashion."

"Hey, can you do a quick scan of the ship?" Hailey asked, still eyeing the Typhon. The fierri pilot nodded, punching in a command. He paused for a minute, looking over the result. Nova and Hailey could both see the confused look on his face.

"What is it?" Martin asked, walking up to the front of the ship.

"We've been trying to make contact with the Typhon but they aren't responding," Hailey explained.

"Here's something else," the pilot remarked. "Shields are down. Ship's barely giving off any energy signatures. And…there are no life signs on board."

Hailey and Nova exchanged glances at this.

"Explains why they aren't talking," Hailey remarked. "Well, Nova. What are your orders?" Terra Nova looked at Hailey in surprise, not expecting this question. Hailey wasn't on Wolf Pack. She was the same rank. Hell, if anything, Nova would've considered Hailey superior. But, looking at Jennifer Hailey's face, Terra could tell she wasn't asking as a military officer. She was asking as a friend.

"We need to board and investigate," Nova said. "How do we get on board?" She had hoped they could just bring the ship into the cargo bay but that was going to be a problem if there wasn't anybody on board to open the bay doors for them.

"The ring platform," a voice suggested. They all turned around, spotting Arcturus near the back. "There is a ring platform near the back of the ship where I was meditating."

They didn't notice it before but now that Arcturus mentioned it, they could see the unmistakable engraving in the floor where the rings would rise from. Nova looked at Hailey for confirmation.

"The Typhon has a set of rings," Hailey said. "I say me and a team ring over to clear the ship."

"How about my Wolf Pack gets ringed over to check everything out first. We'll clear the ship, make sure nothing's wrong. Then we can radio you."

"Alright. We'll be ready."

"Wolf Pack," Nova called out, heading for the back of the ship. On cue, Martin, Chen, and Corin followed their leader to the back of the ship.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Martin asked when he saw Arcturus follow them.

"I believe it is best that I assist you clear the ship," Arcturus explained. "It is apparent that something is wrong. I will accompany you to make sure that nothing dangerous on the ship."

Martin looked at Nova, who could only shrug.

"C'mon," she said. She didn't really think they needed Arcturus. The ship should be empty. But Nova remembered reading SG mission reports of supposedly empty ships being secretly filled with enemy soldiers. Having a heavy hitter like Arcturus would be a massive help in that case.

"Ready?!" the pilot called back as the team stood in the center of the platform.

"Ready!" Nova called back.

"Good luck," the pilot called. With the press of a button, the ring platform activated. The engraving in the floor retracted and five silver rings emerged from the floor. Nova watched as the stack of rings walled in the five of them, halting in midair. She could see Hailey, Osborn, and Soren from between the rings, waiting outside. There was a brilliant flash that consumed the world around them, like a waterfall of liquid light. As the glow died down, the world around them had changed. They were no longer on the Alfa. Dull gray walls, concrete floors, long dim corridors, they were on the Typhon.

The rings descended into the floor, the engraving sliding back into place.

Immediately Nova could tell something was off. It felt like she was out of breath. She tried to inhale, but it felt like she was always a breath short. It seemed like the rest of her team could feel it too judging from their loud and heavy breathing. The only one that seemed to be unaffected was Samanya Arcturus.

"Air's thin," Arcturus remarked, looking around the corridor in interest. "Life support must be damaged. It'll be uncomfortable but survivable."

"Uncomfortable," Chen repeated. "Annoying's more like it." He reached into his pouch and quickly pulled out a scanner. "No toxins or foreign particles detected."

"Oi, Corin," Martin spoke up when he saw his friend nearly keeling over.

"I'm fine," Corin wheezed. Corin cleared his and stood back up and looked around. "Where do we go from here?"

"Bridge," Nova said. "Give me a second." Nova reached down and picked up her radio. "Hailey," she said through it. "Air's thin but other than that, it's ok. Go ahead and ring over then send the pilot back to the gate as fast as possible before the Damacans decide to snoop around."

"Roger that, Nova," Hailey said through the radio.

"What about us, Major?" Martin asked, gently rocking back and forth eagerly.

"We head to the bridge, see if we can find any records on what happened," Nova said.

"Great, so where would that be?" Chen grumbled, looking around. "We supposed to just wander until we find it?"

"Don't worry," Nova said, slapping Chen across the back. "Worked Typhon once. Bridge is that way." Without another word, she headed down the dark hall she pointed at.

-.-

The bridge was exactly how she remembered it. Unlike the bridges of the 303 of 304, the bridge of the 305 was in the center of the ship, a semi-spherical chamber with computers and monitors lining the wall. At the center of the room was a slightly elevated circular platform where the captain would stand.

"Every room's empty," Corin remarked, using his flashlight to scan the bridge. "It's like everyone on the ship disappeared." He figured the rest of his friends weren't scared. After all, why would they be afraid of the dark? But Corin knew there were more than a few things in this galaxy that would justify that fear. The only question was were any of those things responsible for what happened to the ship?

"You think everyone abandoned ship?" Martin suggested, looking at the individual controls consoles, the flashlights casting looming shadows over the walls.

"You didn't see it then?" Chen asked, getting on a computer console.

"See what?"

"The escape pods. They're all here."

"So if they didn't leave the ship…" Nova muttered. "Where did they go?"

While the rest of the team examined the bridge, Chen was busy at the computer. The glow from the computer monitor added to the flashlights as he began reading the information.

"Sublight offline," Chen read. "Hyperdrive offline. Shields offline. Weapons offline. Power's out in half the ship. Life support is…" Chen's voice trailed off.

"Steven?" Nova asked curiously when she heard Chen fall silent.

"Life support's been recalibrated," Chen explained. "Air's not thin because life support was damaged. It's been set this low."

"Can you fix it?" Nova asked.

"I'm locked out of the computers. I can read the data but it won't let me input any commands."

"Dead Space," Martin muttered.

"What?" Corin asked.

"It's a video game. On board a derelict ship infested with flesh-eating necromorphs, undead space monsters hiding in the vents, it's a constant struggle for survival."

Martin jumped up in shock at the sound of a loud metallic clatter. He aimed his ion rifle in the direction of the clatter, a vent shaft.

"Ventilation's off," Arcturus said, tapping her metal gauntlet against the ventilation with a loud clang. She looked at Martin, who held the most bewildered expression on his face. "What?"

"Martin, you have that ion rifle set to minimum yield, right?" Nova asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Close quarters. If there is something on this ship, I don't want you blowing us up…or blowing a hole in the side of the ship." Nova looked at Chen. "Any progress?"

"None," Chen said. "I'm completely locked out." Steven pressed his fingers to his grow in irritation. He had hoped for a simple mission. Why couldn't anything be routine any more?

"Well, hopefully the others are having more luck," Nova sighed.

-.-

"So this is the highly sophisticated, state of the art ship?" Soren asked in a rather unamused tone as led Osborn through the empty halls of Typhon.

"Don't look at me," Kara remarked. "All our other ships are way bigger than this." Doctor Osborn had never officially served on a 304 before but she has traveled in them. And if she had to be honest, she actually enjoyed how nauseatingly complicated the hallways were and how easy it was to get lost in them. But Typhon's smaller size meant no more labyrinths of halls.

"Bigger isn't always better," Hailey remarked. "Bigger ships are bigger targets and pricier losses. I mean, the Alliance had the capability of make planet-sized warships but it would be a waste of resources with how destructive their weapons are. We thought we'd take a page from their book."

"Still strange we went smaller instead of bigger," Osborn said with a shrug, glancing out the window into space.

"You seem unusually solemn about this," Soren remarked. "I thought the prospect of traveling on any ship would be exciting for you."

"Maybe under less serious circumstances. Right now, I'm worried about what happened to the crew. Ah, here we are."

Soren, Hailey, and Osborn all walked into the ship's infirmary, a small room with about a half a dozen hospital beds lining the walls and computer monitors above them. There were two computers at the far end of the room and Kara went straight for them.

"What are you looking for?" Hailey called out as Osborn went to work.

"Hopefully answers," Osborn said, scanning the computer screen. "I'm hoping the reason no life signs were detected is because they did something to mask them."

"Like what?"

"Like stasis. If they did bring stasis pods, they would make a record of it the medical records." Osborn sighed in annoyance. "But nothing."

"What do you mean?" Soren asked, looking at the computer monitor. "What is that?"

On the computer monitor was a text document, blocks of texts already scrawled aCross it.

"It's just a medical journal entry," Kara sighed. "The ship's medical officer just writing about known diseases back in the Milky Way. It's not complete though. It was as if whoever was writing it just dropped what they were doing and left."

"It seems that is what everyone on the ship did," Hailey observed. "Will you two be find staying here?"

Osborn looked at Hailey curiously. It sounded like she intended on wandering off on her own.

"Where will you go?" Soren asked before Kara could.

"Engine room. Maybe one of their computers can tell me what's going on."

"Isn't it dangerous wandering off like that?" Osborn asked. She felt safe being with Soren, a trained killer, and Hailey, one of the SGC's top soldiers. While she still felt protected if it was just Soren, she could not help but question the wisdom of splitting up.

"I don't think it'll hurt," Hailey said. "Don't worry. I'll be back in a jiffy." Without another word, Hailey proceeded down the hall and out of sight.

-.-

The Typhon's engine core, a spinning cylinder surrounded by field-emitting dishes to keep the thing in balance. Hailey was one of the builders of the Typhon. Chen may have involved but he was limited to designing the computer systems and helping Colonel Carter run simulations. Hailey helped conceive much of the design. So seeing her baby like this was almost heartbreaking. She had hoped to see it set sail with a full and eager crew, ready to brave the unknown. Instead, it was a dead husk and its crew missing.

"Alright," she muttered to herself, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. Her fingers flew aCross the keyboard, accessing the files. But the moment she tried, ERROR flashed on screen. She tried again, trying to access engine controls.

ERROR.

She tried to access data logs.

ERROR.

Hailey put her hand to her head and sighed. She might have been able to do something if she could just access the files. But she couldn't. She was stuck. She was beginning to understand the pressure of being Samantha Carter.

Even before she learned of the stargate, she was always compared to the great Samantha Carter. Then she had Cater as her mentor. She wasn't the only one. Carter had plenty of pupils including Terra Nova. But there was a difference. Jennifer knew Terra always felt inferior, always asking herself what Carter would do in a situation. But Hailey and Carter had done enough together that she knew what the living legend would do. It meant no more disappointed looks but it also meant everyone expected her to just know the solution. She knew the rest of the team secretly expected her to figure out the scientific conundrum. But she was as stumped as the rest of them.

"Son of a…" Hailey muttered as ERROR flashed on the screen again. She was also beginning to understand Chen's short temper when it came to computers. She cracked her knuckles and prepared to hack. "You are not getting to me," she muttered. "I will hack you wide open and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She had placed her hands on the keyboard, ready to get to work. Then, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the room in to darkness.

"Oh, what now?"

-.-

In the infirmary, Osborn was scanning the shelves for clues when the lights in the infirmary went out.

"Oh, bloody hell," she muttered.

-.-

On the bridge, Chen was still work on the computer when all the lights on the bridge turned off.

"Ah, bugger," Martin growled.

A moment later, a few weak lights flicked on. It was dim but they could see.

"Chen?" Nova asked slowly. Steven Chen looked around the bridge curiously.

"Stealth mode's been engaged," he murmured.

"Stealth mode?" Corin asked. "We're cloaked?"

"Not quite. The Typhon's stealth is a three-part system. Cloaks makes us go invisible and masks energy signatures but Alliance sensors are sensitive enough to still pick things up. The Hephaestus core absorbs all energy so nothing can be detected but it can only hold so much. Stealth mode is a power setting that turns off non-essential systems so we can keep the core running longer. Kitchen, cargo bay, air lock, they're all completely shut off. Lights are dimmed. Life support runs on a lower setting."

"Wait, wait, wait," Martin stuttered. "Air's thin enough the way it is!"

"Air pressure's not affected. Mostly temperature."

"So everything's ok then?" Nova asked.

"Technically…no. I never activated stealth mode. It just kinda did it by itself. This whole ship's wacked. The reason the air's so thin is because the life-supports been set that way." Chen clicked his radio. "Hey, Hailey. What's your status?"

Hailey's voice came crackling back through the radio.

"I'm in the engine room. I'm trying to go through the computers."

"Wait a minute," Chen stuttered. "You just left Kara with Soren alone?"

"She'll be fine," Hailey said. "I doubt Soren's going to try anything."

Chen grumbled in irritation. It was true. Soren couldn't afford to pull anything. But it didn't make Steven feel better.

"Hey, Jennifer, you activate stealth mode?"

"No, I thought you did."

Chen paused at this statement, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Computer glitch?" Corin suggested.

"Add that to the list of glitches this thing's been having," Chen muttered. "Half the controls are unresponsive. Things are happening on their own. And for some reason, over fifty percent of the ship's memory is full!" He turned and went back to work. While Chen typed away, Nova turned to her two alien cohorts.

"Corin, Arcturus," she called out. "Any thoughts?"

Corin could only shrug.

"Space pirates…" he suggested. "Maybe? Like, they might take the crew, but why would they leave the ship?"

"It's also the location," Arcturus said, slowly walking the room, examining the environment for clues. "We're at the edge of Damacan space. A particularly bold band of space pirates may target a ship in their territory but it is unlikely. Then it is as Professor Nevec stated: why did they leave the ship behind?"

"But…" Martin said. "Mate, I can read your expression. What's on your mind?"

Corin gave an exasperated sigh.

"I don't know how things are in your galaxy but in our galaxy, space isn't completely dead. There are…more than a few things that could kill everyone on an unsuspecting ship."

"True, but none of them can do it without doing damage," Arcturus pointed out.

"We should double check anyways," Nova concluded. "Martin, you and Arcturus go clear the rest of the ship."

"Sounds good," Martin said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "C'mon, Sam."

-.-

Between the dark halls and the occasional creaks that echoed through the ship, Martin was getting creeped out.

He slowly walked through what looked like the torpedo room. The place was a lot more cramped than the rest of the ship. It was a decent sized triangular room with what looked like six metal tubes lining the walls facing the front. There were monitors all along the walls, some active, some dormant.

"Not quite the coziest place on the ship," Martin remarked.

"It's still quite a remarkable feat of engineering," Arcturus remarked. Martin just shrugged at this statement. "You don't seem convinced."

"I mean, it's cool," he said with another shrug. "The one before it was bigger."

"Smaller ships are often more efficient warships," Arcturus explained, examining the tubes. "They are often cheaper so they can be constructed in larger number. They tend to be faster, more maneuverable, and more difficult to hit."

"Bigger is usually better."

"Perhaps you would like to put that to the test with a sparring match?" Samanya asked in an almost mocking tone. Martin instantly knew he probably hit the one spot he should avoid when it came to Samanya Arcturus: her warrior's pride. Arcturus may have been shorter than him but her sheer speed, strength, and skill left no doubt in his mind that a sparring match would only end one way.

"I'm good," he answered. He was about to say something else but a loud crackle of static made him jump in shock, raising his rifle to fight whatever it was. The only one that didn't panic was Arcturus, who looked at one of the monitors hanging off the walls that has come to life.

The faces of Hailey, Chen, and Osborn filled the screen, their respective teams and the rooms they were in in the background.

"I thought I'd turn on internal communication," Hailey explained. "Did I scare you?"

"Oh, rack off!" he retorted. His attitude suddenly did a complete 180 when he saw the room she was in. "Bloody hell, where are you?"

The room Hailey was in was as cramped as all the others. But what caught his eye was the spinning glowing blue cylinder behind her.

"I'm in the engine room," she said. "That's the drive core behind me."

"It looks bloody cool!"

Arcturus gave an amused friendly smile before walking past him. Her smile soon vanished as she realized something while staring at the Torpedo tubes.

"Major Hailey, Doctor Chen," she said.

"Hey, how come you say her name first?" Chen pouted.

"Knock it off, Steve," Hailey interrupted. "What do you want, Arcturus?"

"Martin and I are in the what appears to be the weapons room," Arcturus explained. "Do you know how many torpedoes this ship carries?"

"I'm still on my way to the engine room," Hailey explained. "Steve, you got anything."

"Give me a moment," Chen said. Arcturus waited for a bit in silence as Chen did his thing. "Alright, according to the schematics it can hold a maximum of seventy-five torpedoes. Why?"

"I have a monitor here displaying the number of torpedoes. It displays seventy-five."

"Meaning?" Martin asked.

"Meaning they didn't fire a single shot," Hailey said. "Whatever happened, they didn't fight it."

"Or couldn't," Chen added.

Arcturus exchanged glances with Martin. She was about to say something when the entire room seemed to shift. A thunderous metallic boom rattled the ship while she and Martin nearly toppled to the floor.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Martin exclaimed.

-.-

"Chen, what's happening?!" Nova exclaimed, grabbing a computer console for support. Chen's hands were flying aCross the keyboard.

"Hold on."

"Steven, what's happening?" Kara asked, another boom rocking the ship.

"Hang on!"

"Doctor Chen, what is happening?!" Soren barked.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Give me some time to figure that out!" Chen's hands flew aCross the keyboard until he pulled up the cans. "I'm looking at the sensors! I don't see anything!"

"Then what's going kaboom?!" Martin barked.

"Hold on!" Chen growled in annoyance. "I'm putting more juice into the sensors."

There was a crackle on the com screen as Hailey face appeared and joined the conversation.

"Hey, Nova, who're your friends?" she remarked as the ship rocked again.

"Uh…just some people we met at a party," Nova said with an awkward laugh.

"Ah, they seem nice."

"Now is not the time, ladies!" Chen snapped. "Hold on, I think I got it."

Nova and Corin both looked up at the array of monitors on the walls as Chen continued working. Diagrams showed up, large black screens with the ship at its center, the empty black spaced divided into sections by a thin-lined grid. Chen continued pounding the keyboard behind Nova. She didn't know what he was doing but judging that the grid seemed to shrink before being replaced by another resized grid, she could only assume he was zooming out. Finally, a blip appeared at the edge of the screen.

"Hey, look at this!" Chen called out triumphantly. An image of a ship appeared on the screen, a long but sleek gray ship with what looked like three large prongs facing toward the front, prongs that that made up half the length of the ship.

"I recognize it," Arcturus said, looking at her screen. "It's a Damacan siege cruiser."

"I've never seen a ship with a weapons range that large before," Hailey remarked worriedly, also watching the ship.

"Forget weapons range!" Chen exclaimed. "Damn thing was out of our sensor range!" Chen and Hailey both knew battles in space usually took place at absurd ranges, normally several hundred to several thousand kilometers and sensor ranges were even longer. But this thing was out of range of all of it.

"It's the Damacan combat doctrine," Arcturus explained. "Grids of siege cruisers fire in designated patterns to destroy ships at long range. That entire ship is a single giant cannon."

"So we're fighting a giant friggin' space gun!"

"Sounds like it has a lot of vulnerabilities," Martin remarked.

"It does. That is why it is usually escorted."

"Yea, I'm picking up two smaller ships right next to it," Chen reported, bringing up an image of two other ships, large blocky ships with four blockier engines on its rear.

"Damacan trimmens," Arcturus reported. "If we want to fight the siege cruiser we need to face the gunships."

"Without the engines, we aren't doing much of anything," Chen snapped.

"Good thing we're in the engine room then," Hailey remarked. "Steve I'm going to manually start the engines. You should be able to control it from there."

"I don't know how to fly this rust bucket!"

"You made the user interface!"

"Knowing how to make the ship move and being remotely good at it are two completely different things!"

"Well, you have plenty of space to experiment since there's nothing to crash into."

"Crashing is the last thing I'm worried about!"

"Chen!" Nova snapped. Chen grumbled in annoyance. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about being blamed if they blow up. He quickly did his work and pulled up the navigation computer.

"Waiting on you, Jen," he said.

"Engines online," she reported. "Punch it!"

Chen did just that, literally. He jammed the button that started the engine. Even with the inertial dampeners, everyone could feel the ship lurch as it began to move.

"I'm steering us away," Chen said.

-.-

The engines of the ship came to life, the glow in the exhaust glowing like a small sun. The Typhon began to move, taking off into the distance as a fireball erupted next to the ship, the searing white hot inferno licking the vessel with its flames. Another blast rocked the ship, the concussive wave hurling the ship aCross space.

The entire galaxy of Caldwell 70 was a hub of the Alliance thousands of years ago. Their technology was left behind everywhere and just about everyone in the galaxy wanted to get their hands on it. The Ror'char and the Quinterans may have been ahead in the tech race but they weren't the only runners. The Damacans once found ancient blueprints on how to construct drones, explosive projectiles coated in a field of energy that let them burn through any shielding or matter. They never did find a way to stabilize the energy as a field so, instead, they chose to release the energy in a single powerful explosion.

-.-

Chen instinctively looked up at the ceiling as another boom creaked the ship. The blast was further in the distance but it was still there.

"Hailey, this isn't working," Chen said.

"You sure you're flying away from them?"

"Yes, Hailey. I'm sure I'm flying away from them!"

There was a pause as Hailey took a moment to think. She wasn't trained to fly the ship but she still knew how it worked. If there was something in the systems that could help them, she would know about it.

"Alright, let me try something," she said. "And…now!"

Chen's grip on the console tightened as he waited for whatever Hailey was doing to kick in. He waited the saving grace.

But nothing happened.

"Well, what'd you do?" Chen barked. "Nothing happened."

"Sounds like something happened to me," Hailey mocked. Chen was about to retort but Corin spoke up.

"Steven," he remarked. "The explosions stopped."

Chen and Nova fell silent, listening to the hum of the ship. Sure enough, the explosions that had rocked it had ceased. The only sound left was the gentle hum of the engines.

"I activated the Hephaestus Core," Hailey explained. "I figured at this distance they're probably relying on their passive sensors to detect us."

"You know if they increase the sensitivity of their active sensors we'll be back to square one," Chen bluntly pointed out.

"Well, it should take a few minutes for them to realize what's going on. In the meantime, can you meet me in engineering. I think I know what's going on."

Corin and Nova let out sighs of relief. They weren't any closer to solving the problem but at least they now had time to.

For Corin, he actually felt unusually calm. Being afraid during a firefight was not the act of a coward, and Corin Nevec detested violence. Whenever violence broke out, he was often left hiding while his friends dealt with the fight and was left pumped full of adrenaline afterwards. His body was still pumped with adrenaline from the battle they just survived, but Corin could not help but feel a bit calmer now that the muffled sounds of cannon fire in space instead of gunshots a few meters away.

"I'm on my way down," Chen said through the speaker. He punched in a few commands before standing up and leaving.

"What about the ship?" Nova asked, she and Corin walking after him.

"We're the in the middle of space and we already have some velocity. I don't need to keep the sublight on. We can just drift through space."

"You know what Hailey found?" Corin asked.

"I might. I just hope I'm wrong."

-.-

Under normal circumstances, Corin would've loved to just stare at the glowing engine core, which looked like a liquid rainbow rising into the ceiling of its containment chamber. But they weren't here to admire the beauty of the core.

"Jen," Chen called out as he entered the room. "You got something for me?"

The Typhon's engineering room wasn't much different than the engineering of the 304's. No point in changing what's not broken. Three curved computer consoles were situated in a circle with a few more on the walls. A large screen was displayed at the front of the room in case anyone had something to show.

"Steve, take a look at this," Hailey remarked. With the flick of a switch, a long block of code filled the screen. Chen grumbled at the prospect of having to comb a segment of code but he read it anyways. It took a few moments but Nova watched as his frustration seemed to melt, giving way to concern.

"How'd you find this?" he asked stiffly.

"Both of us were locked out of the controls. The only way I could manually control the engine was by worming my way into the computer. But the only reason I was able to do that was because something else had wormed in for me."

"Were you able to trace it upstream?"

"Already done."

"Uh…guys…" Nova remarked. "Non-computer-nerds here."

"It's a virus," Hailey explained. Instantly the remark spurred reaction. Nova put her hand to her head and sighed while Corin had the most confused look on his face.

"You're kidding," he coughed. "You mean you guys got a third virus?"

"Third?" Chen repeated. "I thought there was only one other one was on the Daedalus."

"I read a mission report that the SGC got infected by a virus once through the MALP."

"Might as well believe him," Nova commented. "He's read all the SG mission reports."

Corin threw his hands up, shaking his head. He wasn't a computer geek but he knew enough.

"Seems like you guys are need of an anti-virus," he remarked.

"We do!" Hailey stuttered out. "The only reason the Wraith virus penetrated the Daedalus systems was because it kept changing itself until it could get through. And the SGC didn't think it had to protect its own MALP telemetry."

"Well, what's the excuse this time?" Nova exclaimed.

"Hang on," Chen grumbled, typing over Hailey's shoulder. Finally, he stopped typing. And his face sagged. "What…the…hell…" he managed to stutter. "Jen, you seeing this?!"

"I see it," she said. "I just don't believe it."

Nova cleared her throat, reminding the two that they were still in the room.

"It's an exception statement," Chen said. "The reason the anti-virus didn't catch the virus…is because it's been reprogrammed to overlook it." Chen's hands flew across the keyboard, practically slamming on the keys as he worked. "They've all been reprogrammed! All our security systems have been reprogrammed to ignore the virus."

"How do you know it's ignoring the virus?" Hailey asked.

"Well, do you recognize this tag?"

"Wait, back up," Corin stuttered. "So you're telling me someone hacked us, installed a virus, and rewrote all the software to ignore the virus?"

"No, that wouldn't make sense," Hailey said. "If you had enough control of the system that you could rewrite its security, why bother installing the virus?"

"Depends on the situation," Chen said. "Spyware…sabotage…"

"Yeah, but if it was the Lucian Alliance, why not just change the ship's systems? Blow up the ship while it was still in the Milky Way. Same with the Ror'char, the Quinterans…maybe a band of space pirates but why would they leave the ship?"

"I'm not saying I know the answer. I'm just saying there are reasons to plant a virus after hacking into a computer system."

"Could the virus have rewritten the security software?" Corin asked.

"It's technically not a rewrite," Chen explained. "All security software have the ability to add exceptions in case it doesn't like new software. But that still doesn't make sense. It'd be a lot easier to just make a virus that the security would miss entirely instead of one that rewrites it."

"Alright, I get it!" Nova snapped. She knew as a leader she had to take in as much information as possible. But this was just making her head hurt. "So a computer virus is responsible for the state of the ship. But what about the crew?"

She looked around to see if anyone had answers, but all she got was blank stares. The ship was still empty and the escape pods were still there.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Chen sighed, shaking his head. "We need to focus on clearing the virus from the ship's systems first. Then we can see what we can salvage to use to find out what happened to the crew."

"Well, that's the easy part," Hailey scoffed. "Shut down the computer's system, clear the active memory, then restore it with the backup."

"That's what the Daedalus and the SGC did when they got a virus," Corin recited.

"It's the most effective way to clear any virus," Chen added. "It's almost like getting a new computer."

"Hey, Hailey, do you need Steven for this?" Nova asked. She knew how important getting the ship back in working order was but she wanted Chen in position to start digging for information the moment everything was back online.

Hailey looked at the computer, then back at Nova.

"It's a simple task," Jennifer replied. "I can handle."

"I'll take my team back to the bridge," Nova said. "We should get back in touch with Osborn and Martin and stand by in case we run into trouble."

Without another word, Wolf Pack turned and left the room. Chen, Corin, and Nova left down the hall, the engine room disappearing behind the corner.

"Hard to believe it," Nova said as they made their way down the hall. "Brand new ship and it's already in trouble." Nova had faith Hailey could get this task done by herself. It's what she does. With any luck, Hailey could have the ship back in working order, they can find the crew, then they can be on their way. Nice, easy mission.

"You already served on this once, right?" Corin asked.

"Yeah. Operation Typhon. It was nearly destroyed then too. The girl's been through tough times."

It was a while back but Nova still remembered running away from ashrak through the halls of the Typhon, demons from the Shadow's Hand. The ship was finally repaired and even got a few upgrades but now it was broken again.

"Would've been cool to see the ship at her prime," Corin remarked, folding his arms behind his head as he strolled down the corridor.

"I know Martin was disappointed. He was hoping for a something bigger."

"I'll take the smaller laser over the catapult any day."

"You'd take neither. You hate guns!"

The two laughed at their conversation, only then realizing there was someone not joining in.

"Steven!" Nova called out. "You've been quiet. You ok?"

Chen didn't really say anything. It was obvious he was too lost in thought. Corin reached over and gave Chen's ear a gentle flick. Chen practically jumped out of his skin in shock. When he finally realized it was nothing dangerous, he looked over in surprise.

"What was that for?!" he barked.

"Sorry, just looked like you were out of it," Corin chuckled.

"Steven…" Nova remarked. "You ok?'

"No, I've just been thinking," Chen murmured. "The virus is responsible for everything on the ship. Is it possible it could explain what happened to the crew?"

"Probably. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, we speculate that the virus is responsible for everything happening on the ship."

"The unresponsive systems, the life support settings..." Corin recited.

"You think the virus killed everyone?" Nova asked. "Even if it's not an AI, it could be programmed to kill everyone on the ship."

"How can you kill everyone on a space ship?"

"Plenty of ways," Chen scoffed, the trio walking down a short flight of stairs. "Uh, turn off life support, maximize gravity, turn off inertial dampeners, pick one."

"But you don't think that's what happened," Nova said.

"No. The virus set the life support to a very specific setting. If it was programmed to kill, we would've been its next victims. Not to mention, all the ways to kill someone on a space ship are messy and there isn't a trace of anyone anywhere."

"It's a real shame," Corin remarked. "Traveling on space ships is supposed to be awesome."

"Yeah, I can only imagine how terrified they all got when the life support started going down."

It was only then Chen stopped in his tracks. Nova and Corin kept walking for a few seconds but then realized he had trailed behind.

"Chen…" Nova said.

"Just thinking," Chen said. "If you were on board the ship when life support started failing, what would you do?"

"Escape pods," Corin immediately answered. "I mean, it'd probably look like they're about to vent all their atmosphere so the best idea's to abandon ship."

"Out in the middle of nowhere in a tin can without a hyperdrive, you just prolong your own death."

"Stasis pods," Nova suggested. "Set the emergency beacon and jump into a stasis pod."

"The crew did half of that. But there're no stasis pods, even in the cargo bay. I mean the only way to maybe save yourself then. Chen paused, his face sagging as realization dawned on him. "Aw, crap."

"What is it?" Nova asked upon seeing Chen's panicked look. He didn't answer. He turned around and bolted, practically tripping up the stairs but immediately leaping back to his feet before sprinting down the hall. Nova and Corin could only take off behind him.

"Hailey!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "Hailey, stop! Hailey, don't wipe the memory!"

-.-

In engineering, Hailey had finally finished with the preparations. Wipe the system, then restore it with the backup. Should be easy. With any luck, the worst the ship's had to face would be behind it.

Hailey began typing. She gave a heavy sigh, ready to restart every system on the Typhon. She reached down to press the enter key when a sharp voice made her jump.

"HAILEY, STOP!"

Jennifer Hailey nearly fell out of her chair at the sudden panicked call of her name.

From the floor, she turned to look as Chen stumbled onto the bridge, his entire body wracked with sweat from the sprint. It took a few more moments but Nova and Corin soon stumbled in behind him.

Hailey looked at Terra, but only got a confused shrug.

"Jeez, you nearly gave me a heart attack," Hailey huffed. "What is it?" After taking several more deep breaths, he finally explained.

"The Makhai," he panted.

"Ok…what about them?"

"In order to preserve their civilization, they use their transport technology to save everything to a buffer, turn everything into data and save it to a computer."

"Don't the wraith do the same thing?" Nova added

"Pretty much. And something similar was done when the Stargate Council attacked Millennium. They use the transport technology to preserve life forms."

"Ok, so what?" Hailey asked.

"Well, think about it. Your ship drops out of hyperspace in the middle of nowhere. The computers systems start going off one by one, life support's flickering, and the atmosphere's being vented. What goes through your brain?"

"The ship's coming apart at the seams," Nova answered.

"Exactly! There's no planet for you to beam your crew to. You can't use the escape pods unless you want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere."

"Wait, are you saying the crew used the Asgard transporter to save themselves to the ship's hard drive?!" Hailey exclaimed.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! They activate their subspace beacon then save themselves to the hard drive. You purge the systems, you kill them!"

-.-

Nova stared up at the computer monitor. Most of them on the bridge were off but Chen had left one on, one that showed the space in front of the ship as it cruised through the void. Nova stared at the monitor, admiring the specs of light that were stars and planets in the distance.

"Enjoying the view?" Corin Nevec asked from behind her.

"Yeah. It's one thing I miss about Apollo: windows to look at the stars."

"Windows are structural weaknesses," Corin stated in an almost robotic tone. Nova looked at her subordinate in confusion, knowing he was referencing something but unable to tell what.

"Martin show you a new movie or something?"

"Video game," Corin corrected. "Everyone's ready in the cargo bay, by the way."

Nova nodded and followed Nevec out. The cargo bay was at the bottom of the neck of the ship, a large cement room filled with crates and boxes. It was obvious they had intended to help restock the expedition. As the two of them walked in, she could hear everyone inside.

"Hey, we got new laser guns!" Martin exclaimed, shuffling through the boxes, lifting a new X699 from the box. Immediately, Hailey walked over to compare the model she had to the new one. She remembered the bulky and awkward handlebar-looking thing the x699 used to be compared to the sleek rifle reminiscent of the Mx4 Storm that it was now.

Hailey held up her rifle next to the new model, her rifle customized with alien technology they had stumbled aCross in Caldwell 70 and the phrase 'bad-ass blonde' engraved in the stock.

"I like mine better," she said, shouldering her modified rifle.

The sound of Corin and Nova's footsteps caught everyone's attention.

"Well, at least the air seems to be getting better," Nova remarked as she stepped up to a large crate they were using as a table.

"I detached the life support systems from the computer network," Hailey explained, stepping up to the box. "The only way to adjust life support now is manually. We're lucky the virus hadn't infected that system yet."

"So, where does that leave us?" Arcturus asked.

"Well, we can't take full control of the ship without purging the virus. And we can't purge the virus with the crew saved to the ship's memory. And we can't beam them back out because of the virus."

"So, is there anything we can do?" Nova asked.

"Can't we just remove the memory crystal holding the crew before we wipe the systems?" Corin suggested.

"It's not that simple," Chen sighed. "The virus works like ransomware. It's encrypted our systems. Everything, including the memory, has been encrypted. I need to decrypt everything to get it working again."

"How long will that take?" Nova asked.

"Damned if I know. Could take hours. Could take years. These things were made to be _not_ decrypted."

"I'll help you with the decryption," Hailey said. She looked at Nova. "Shall we?"

It took a moment for Nova to realize Hailey was asking her permission.

"Why you asking me? We're the same rank."

Hailey chuckled at Nova's response before finally leaving the room, everyone else following. Nova was about to join, but she noticed Chen was staying behind.

"Steven," she said, noticing the stern expression on his face. "You ok?"

Chen was silent for a moment, clearly unsure whether or not to say anything.

"I took a look at the malware code," he said. He held up his hands as if he was going to try to explain but not sure how. "All machines, when you get down to it, rely on binary for computing at its most basic level."

"Ok…" Nova said, not sure where this was going.

"Programs are like finger prints. For any program there are nearly infinite ways to write and structure it. So programmers usually have their own personal ways of creating code."

"Steven, what are you getting at?"

Chen glanced at the doorway as if he wanted to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them.

"The malware code…it was run through a compiler."

"Steven, c'mon! You hate techno-babble. Just say you what you want to say."

"The code was written in Goa'uld!"

Nova froze at this statement. For a moment, she thought she heard him wrong.

"What did you say?" she asked slowly, dreading the answer she was going to get.

"The code for the malware was originally written in a Goa'uld programming language. Then it was compiled into assembly language compatible with our computers and installed on our systems."

"So you're telling me…the Goa'uld planted a virus in our ship…" Nova breathed.

"No. You remember that fingerprint comment I made. I was only able to decompile a fraction of the code but I recognized the structure. The encryption software is new but the virus's structure is identical to ones used by the Tok'ra."

Nova felt her blood chill.

"You're sure…" she finally managed to choke out. "Maybe surviving member of the Trust?"

"When I was first recruited for the SGC, I was trained by studying Goa'uld and Tok'ra programming languages," Chen explained. "One of the programs I got a chance to look at was one the Tok'ra would use to sabotage Goa'uld motherships. The malware was practically copied and pasted."

"So…you're saying…"

"That's right," Chen said. "All evidence points that this virus was planted by the Tok'ra."

Nova gave a stiff sigh. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated. Her mind wandered back to the IOA…the Tok'ra…General Mercer…Am-heh.

"We always knew that stuff would come back to bite us in the ass one day," she sighed.

"But what do we do with this? The virus the Tok'ra originally created was designed to destroy the ship: overload the hyperdrives or set off the self-destruct. This thing was designed to only disable the ship."

Nova put her hand to her forehead. She was the leader. It was up to her to make a decision. But she didn't know what to decide. All she knew was that they needed more information.

"Alright, we'll put this on the backburner for now," she said. "Right now, we need to save this ship."

 _ **A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the delay. Work has been stacking up on me. Here's the next ep. As you can tell, the over arching story is about to get heated. This ep will get a chance to show new Tau'ri technology and how they make use of old ones. I hope it's to you're liking. Please review and enjoy. I also would like to thank taleanaomi for helping me write this.  
**_


	2. Chapter 2

The cold of space could be considered by many to be a soothing backdrop, a serene black background dotted with tiny pinpoints of light. But there is no corner of the universe that will remain untouched by conflict.

Four trimmens drifted through space, sharks patrolling the waters for a kill, the familiar Damacan box-shaped ship with four boxy engines at the back. But they weren't alone. When it came to space, there is no horizon, no terrain, nothing to obscure sight in any direction, and almost nothing to obscure energy. Battles took place not dozens or even hundreds of kilometers but thousands of kilometers apart. And that's what was happening.

In the distance, five T-shaped ships were also out on the hunt. But they were nothing like the sleek Damacan ships, their hulls scorched and bent, sheets of metal replacing several parts, the emblems painted on their wings faded or scratched off. One of the ship's wings didn't even look like it came from the original ship; it looked like the wing of a completely different ship had been used to replace it. These weren't guards patrolling the sector. They were predators looking for an easy kill. And these trimmens, fast ships meant for harassment and close combat, were overextended and the perfect target.

A swarm of missiles flew from the T-shaped ships like a swarm of insects, long trails of smoke blazed behind them, missiles not meant to destroy ships through destructive force but through sheer quantity. They had barely made it half way to their target when a stream of blue energy bolts came from the trimmens, blasting the missiles out of the air, a cloud of fireballs filling the blackness of space. What few made it through rammed into a shimmering violet shield, the hull swallowed up by the explosions. Other streams of energy bolts were aimed right at the enemy ships, a storm of lasers flying from the Damacan trimmens. As if to respond to this, massive green bolts of energy surged from the T-shaped ships, whizzing through space toward the trimmens. The ships began to move around, trying to get in close to maximize their damage before pulling back to avoid it.

And while all this was happening, the Typhon flew away from the scene, hidden from both sides.

-.-

From inside, Hailey and Corin watched the battle on the screens from inside.

"Well, that should keep them busy for a while," Hailey remarked, watching as the ships went at it. Hailey might not care but, for Corin, he was not too fond of the situation. He knew they had to get away from the Damacans, but they were doing it by having them face off against space pirates.

"Hey," Hailey said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked her. He had to get his head back in the game. He had been on Wolf Pack for a while now. He knew he had to be able to stand this type of violence even if he does not take part in it.

"I'm fine," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "We're nearly at the station," he added, hoping to change the subject. Hailey gave a nod, looking back at the screens. From the screens, they watched as the field of asteroids in the distance grew larger.

"Right over there," Corin said, pointing ahead. They watched as the screens showing the empty void of space was replaced by structures of metal and concrete.

The room before them was a massive hangar, a concrete room with metal scaffolds in the ceiling. Stacks of metal crates were scattered about the room. There was a loading bay on the far side, ready to deliver new supplies.

The place was well lit, abet a bit eerie.

"There's a slightly higher concentration of CO2 but it's habitable," Hailey said, looking at the control panel. "Foreign particles detected but it's something we've already been inoculated against."

For Corin, the Damacans were something he only read about. With how isolationist they were, they were little more than a story. But it was a story he has read dozens of times. Chased from their home planet by the Harvesters, settled in a system that was technically already claimed, and now constantly threatened with invasion and extinction from the Þúcarius, who want their land back. The Damacans were lucky in one way: their system was rich in resources. That meant mining platforms in the asteroids: a perfect spot to hide.

Corin and Hailey both turned around when they heard Nova and Chen rush onto the bridge.

"Did we just land?" Nova asked.

"We found an abandoned mining station in the asteroid field," Hailey explained.

"What about the Damacans?" Chen asked.

Corin was about to answer but Hailey spoke up.

"Busy," she said. "There were some space pirates in the neighborhood. Got them off our back while we took cover here. It should give us some cover until me and Steven can fix the ship."

"We could even take back some scraps they left behind," Corin added. He could see Nova fully approved of that plan. Corin remembered when he first joined the Millennium Expedition, every mission was a hunt for technology and resources. They were far better off now but their standing orders to find resources and technology still remained. Chen, on the other hand, was less eager at the prospect.

"Steven?" Hailey asked, looking at Chen curiously.

"Jen," Chen said, staring at the monitors that displayed the empty mining station. "Have you done a life signs scan?"

"Yeah. There's nothing."

Chen maintained his suspicious stare, not taking his eyes of the screen. It was like he was waiting for something to pop out.

"Steven, what is it?" Corin asked.

"Corin, what do you see?" Chen asked. Corin looked up at the monitors, not sure what he was supposed to be looking for. Chen was always the paranoid one, seeing danger when there was none. Still, his caution has saved them before.

"Uh…some boxes, mining equipment…I think I saw a power loader on our way in."

The screen definitely showed a hangar meant for a starship. But it was packed with boxes, crates, supplies, vehicles, utility walkers, and more. And he was pretty sure Hailey landed right on top of a few things too. It was as if they were in the middle of packing up and just decided to drop everything and leave.

"An awful lot of equipment left behind. Can't help but wonder why they didn't take it with them."

"You know it costs resources to deconstruct the station."

"Yeah, the station. How many resources did they waste in abandoned equipment? Kinda makes you wonder what made them feel the need to leave it all behind."

Corin could not help but feel a chill down his spine, already thinking of the things he's heard about in space. It was next to impossible to separate the truth from urban legend when it came to monsters lurking in space.

"Alright, I'll take Arcturus," Nova sighed, shaking her head.

"Check some of the crates in the cargo hold," Hailey suggested. "They probably have some of the SGC's new stuff."

Nova nodded thoughtfully, clearly never having considered that.

Hailey began fumbling with the brace around her left arm, pulling back the Velcro and removing it.

"Here," she said, holding it out Nova. "Just bring it back in one piece."

Corin and Nova stared at the thing: a rectangular flip screen attached to a plastic brace with velco to hold it to the forearm. It was Hailey's wrist-mounted scanner.

"Alright, I'll try," Nova said cautiously, taking the scanner. Corin reached over to help Nova, holding the scanner in the right position while she connected the Velcro. Once it was attached, Nova flipped the screen open, holding it in front of her. She and Corin could see the room displayed on the screen, a blip over Hailey since it detected her life sign.

"I guess I'll have at it," Chen sighed, pulling out a chair. Corin walked by, giving Chen a pat on the back.

"We'll be fine," Corin said. Chen simply gave an annoyed glare in return.

"If you want to bullshit me, at least make it convincing," he grumbled. Corin had hoped he came off a bit more convincing. Truth be told, he wasn't convinced either. He could only hope this was an overreaction.

Corin was about to leave, but then realized Nova and Chen was staring at each other. It seemed like Hailey had picked upon it too, looking at the two curiously.

Chen looked like he was about to say something but Nova shook her head. Chen gave a nod and turned back to the computer.

Corin looked at his two friends in confusion. It wasn't like Terra to keep secrets.

"C'mon, Corin," she said, finally walking out of the room. Corin reached down and fingered the trazer in its holster. He had the stun weapon on one side and a pistol on the other. With that comfort in mind, he jogged up to join Nova.

-.-

Charles Martin was far from lazy. But who wouldn't prefer a job where you can do nothing? Since it seemed like all the problems were technical, he thought he wouldn't need to do anything for this mission. But now the Major had called him to the cargo hold.

"The peaceful life was nice while it lasted," he remarked, shouldering his ion rifle. "C'mon, Sam."

The halls of the ship were filled with the metal clatter of Samanya Arcturus's footsteps. The two of them made their way to the cargo hold at the bottom of the ship. Truth be told, the order to explore wherever they were was nice. The ship was beginning to creep him out, even with Samanya Arcturus nearby. He was actually eager to rejoin the rest of the team as he entered the cargo hold. The dim lights barely illuminated the chamber.

"Major!" Martin called out, looking around the room. The cargo hold was packed with boxes so if she was here, she could be anywhere.

"Back here!" Nova called out. Martin could tell where the voice came from, walking behind a stack of boxes to find her and Corin waiting for them.

The four of them gathered around the crate being used as a table, some supplies scattered across its surface.

"Sweet, we breaking out the new toys?" Martin asked, looking at the equipment. He recognized the Chimera Holo-Bracelet and the drop-shield, two pieces of equipment they had used before. That's when it struck him. "There a reason we're breakin' out the big guns?"

"It's just a precaution," Nova said, holding her hands in front of her. "We've just docked at an abandoned mining station while Steven and Hailey try to fix the Typhon."

Martin looked at Samanya, seeing if she had anything to add. But the stern blond simply stood at attention.

"Major, if you don't mind me asking, what are we doing?" she asked. Martin looked back at the equipment. Sam's question was better than his.

"We've docked at an abandoned mining station," Nova explained. "Steven and Hailey will stay behind and try to fix the ship. The rest of us will look for supplies and technology"

It sounded good to Martin. Explore a cool space station and get out of the creepy ship or spend the mission hanging with Sam, it seemed like a win-win to Martin.

"Sounds cool to me," he said, cracking his neck. "We looking for anything special?"

"We just gathering supplies," Nova said. "First we clear the station, make sure there nothing that poses an immediate threat. Once it's all clear, we return to the hangar and begin loading up the scraps." She paused as if she wanted to add something to it but stopped herself.

"Major Nova," Arcturus spoke up. "Do we know what is wrong with the ship."

Poignant as ever, Arcturus continued to ask about the mission.

"It's…it's just a computer virus," Nova said. "That's all we know so far. Hailey and Steven are working on fixing it. In the meantime, we'll a look around the mining station, see if we can find anything useful."

Nova looked around, looking to see if anyone had anything to say.

"Alrighty then," she said. Nova quickly walked away and vanished behind a stack of boxes. A few moments later, the click of a button being pressed echoed through the cargo hold. The room was filled with a loud whirring. Everybody looked toward the side, watching as the floor began to move, lowering like a ramp. Light from the outside flooded the cargo hold, the smooth metal floor angling itself until it finally came to a stop.

Nova reemerged, kriss vector smg in hand.

"Shall we?" she asked.

-.-

When Nova first thought of the prospect of leaving the ship, it seemed inviting. No more creepy dark halls. But, it seemed the abandoned mining station wasn't any better. Even with lights illuminating the long gray almost concrete-like walls, the place still seemed eerie.

As they stepped off the ramp and into the hangar, they paused to take in the sight. They were used to hangars made to hold starfighters. What was before them was large enough for a starship. They knew all of Earth's previous ships were made in a hangar like this but they have never seen it before.

"Hold on," Nova said, holding her left hand up. She flipped open the wrist-mounted scanner, the screen immediately turning on. After a bit of static, the hall in front of them appeared on screen. She slowly moved it around, scanning the environment.

"Well, looks like there's nothing here," she said. She could feel Martin and Corin's eyes on her. She could not hide the uncertainty of her statement. "Look, this is normally Hailey's thing."

"So you're sure there's no one here?" Martin double checked. Nova lifted the scanner again, this time passing it over Martin and Corin. She saw the blips over them. So it clearly was detecting life signs. She knew Hailey had several other features in the thing but without knowing what they were, she rather not go poking around.

"I'm sure," Nova concluded. She waited for their responses but none came. At least not at first.

"Your confidence is inspiring," Arcturus said, walking past with sword in hand. Martin and Corin soon followed, leaving Nova staring.

"Was that sarcasm?" Nova called out as the three of them walked off. She sighed, before jogging to catch up with them. Samanya Arcturus wasn't as stoic as the jaffa she's met but it was still hard to tell when she was joking since she always had a straight face when she spoke.

They were supposed to go explore the station. But none of them could resist walking over to the power loader nearby. The machine was slightly larger than a human, a large harness for its occupant and mechanical arms and legs attached.

A smile immediately spread across Martin's face. Nova could tell he was already picturing himself driving that thing.

"Don't do it," Corin spoke up. Martin was about to act innocent but Corin immediately cut him off. "I know what you're thinking. Terra, back me up here."

Nova knew she probably should have been listening, but she tuned them out a while back. She was already walking toward the loader. Before she knew what she was doing, she lifted the metal harness before sitting in the open seat.

Corin sighed and shook his head.

"Corin, you know how to work this thing?" Nova asked, setting her feet onto two small platforms in the loader's legs.

"I was a teacher, not a maintenance worker," Corin said. "There's probably a big red button to start it up. That's how our cars work."

"Do I need a key?" Nova asked, sliding her arms into the mechanical sleeves, but unable to move since the loader was still off. Her arms were still in the open, simply attached to the machine's limbs at the wrist and bicep, four triggers at her finger tips.

"It's probably a proximity key," Corin said. "So if there's a key nearby, it'll start up."

"I don't know if there's a key nearby!"

"One way to find out."

Nova looked at the control board in front of her, sitting at her stomach. There were more than a couple of buttons and levers, but her focus was on the red one. She took her right arm out of the mechanical sleeve and pressed the button. She felt the machine power up, the entire contraption rumbling to life. Martin's face lit up with excitement like a kid meeting his superhero. Nova excitedly put her arm back into the mechanical sleeve.

She let out an excited laugh as the machine began to move, its limbs moving with hers. She squeezed the triggers, a set of claws on its arms opening and closing. However, her excitement turned to panic when she stepped forward. The machine's weight was completely different than what she was used to. She was a baby learning to walk. She let out a panicked yell, flailing her arms to keep balance. Martin, Corin, and Arcturus all ducked as the mechanical limb flew over their heads at least once. After a moment, she finally regained her balance. But she had enough. The moment she could stand, she took her arm out of the sleeve and pressed the button.

The machine powered down, returning to its hunched position. Finally, with wobbly legs, Nova lifted the harness and stepped out, a smile still on her face.

"Anyways," Nova said, clearing her throat and straightening her uniform.

-.-

They made their way to the far door at the far end of the hangar, eyeing all the supplies they can take. Nova prepared to open the door, then realized it was sliding door that needed a code.

"Should I blast it open" Martin wondered.

"You mean should you accidentally blow a hole in the space station?" Corin repeated. Before anyone could say anything else, Samanya Arcturus stepped forward.

"Stand back," she said. Everyone did as she said. Arcturus readied her sword. Then, with a flick of her wrist, the sword began to change and transform, parts of it sliding until in her hand was a rifle. She aimed the energy rifle at the center of the door and pulled the trigger. Orange bolts of energy pelted the door, sparks and smoke shooting out from the impact. Finally, she stopped. The door was still intact, but there was now a hole the size of a car tire, its edges melted and seared.

"That's one way to make a hole," Corin remarked. Nova went in first. She peeked her head in to make sure no space monsters waited on the other side. Satisfied, she proceeded to crawl through the hole followed by Corin. Martin then Samanya followed suit.

The new hall they were in was a bit less stuffed than the hangar. No more random crates laying about.

"Which way?" Corin asked, looking both directions. Nova looked down both halls, half expecting a space monster to jump out. But nothing happened.

"Let's split up," Nova suggested. "Martin and Corin will go one direction. Me and Arcturus will go the other."

"Sounds good to me," Martin said, though Nova would swear she almost saw what looked like a pout on his face. With that said, the two duos walked off.

-.-

It was out of one creepy location and into another. The space station was better lit than the Typhon, but there was something off putting about a location clearly meant to be lively and active being so dead.

And to make it worse, Martin felt the need to hum an eerie tune to boot.

"Charles," Corin said, catching his friend's attention. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, sorry mate," Martin said, immediately falling silent. "Place creeping you out?"

Corin chuckled. Leave it to Martin to lighten a creepy situation. Still, it was only a brief reprieve.

"More than you know," Corin replied, feeling a chill go down his spine.

"You guys are actually afraid of space," Charles Martin observed. "What're you afraid of out here? You remember we live in a space station, right?"

"Millennium's different," Corin said, shaking his head. "It's shielded."

"Ok. Then what are you afraid of out here?"

Corin, looked to the side, not sure how to answer this question. Truth be told, this felt like an irrational fear. Still, he knew it wasn't.

They passed through the door and into what looked like a long hall of doors as Corin recounted what he knew.

"There are more than a couple stories," Corin said, aiming his flashlight as some of the doors, eyeing the smooth metallic surface suspiciously. "You hear spacers talk about it all the time. Add that to the harvesters, the spore infection, you have to wonder what's out here."

Corin looked at Martin to see his reaction but was surprised to see that his friend was not walking beside him. Corin looked around, immediately spotting Martin a few paces back.

"Charles?" he called out. Charles Martin had stopped in the middle of the hall, looking through an open door and into the room on the other side. Corin walked back to Martin's side, peeking into the room. They were in the living area so the room on the other side looked like a living room, a small table at its center and a few couches scattered about. It looked like there was a bathroom at the side and a hall leading elsewhere, possibly the bedrooms, next to it. Other than that, nothing.

"Charles?" Corin said, looking at Martin. "What're you looking for?"

Martin didn't answer at first, his eyes locked onto the hallway.

"I thought I saw…nothing. This place is getting to me."

Martin walked away without saying another word, clearly unnerved by whatever it was. Corin glanced back into the dark room. With a shiver, Corin went to join Martin.

Silence fell on the two as they continued down the hall. It wasn't until they reached the end of it they finally stopped.

"Charles," Corin started. "Has Terra been acting strange lately?" Martin gave Corin a sideways look.

"What'dya mean by that?" he asked.

"It's just that…" Corin stuttered, trying to figure out how to word it. "I just feel like she's hiding something."

This time, Martins stared at Corin like the man was crazy.

"The Major," Lieutenant Martin coughed. "Hiding something?"

"You didn't see her," Corin sighed, shaking his head. "It seemed like there was something she didn't want to tell me or Hailey."

Martin looked down to the side. Corin was he was taking the issue seriously.

"She is the team leader," he said. "She's allowed to keep secrets. Still…"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Corin said. "You know how she is when she doesn't get feedback. Whatever this is, I hope she doesn't do anything dumb."

Corin suddenly paused. Martin had stopped in his tracks, holding his head up.

"Charles?" he asked. Martin didn't say anything. Corin always considered Martin's hunting instincts a benefit. Now, they were just creeping him out.

"Do you hear that?" Martin asked. Corin fell silent, trying to listen for whatever Martin was hearing. Suddenly, the entire hall turned black, all the lights turning off with an audible click.

"I heard that," Corin said.

Corin could hear Martin groan beside him in annoyance.

"Bugger my ass," he muttered. "Of course, the lights go out." Martin clicked the flashlight on his ion rifle on while Corin took a flashlight from his belt and turned it on as well.

"Hey, Terra," Corin said through the radio. "You turn off the lights?"

"No," the team leader answered. "We thought you did."

"Of course you did," Corin sighed. The place was creepy enough the way it was. His imagination was running wild with what could be here with them.

"Hey, relax," Maritn said, nudging Corin with his elbow. "It's probably just a malfunction. We already scanned the station and it said no life signs so it's empty. Right?" Corin could only give Martin a blank stare. "You're kidding me," Martin muttered.

"If you believe the urban legends, there are animals that can elude life sign sensors," Corin explained. He watched Martin's face sag at this information. The Australian sniper gave a sigh, prepping his ion rifle.

"Guys," Martin said over the radio. "Watch your back out here. We may or may not be alone."

Martin clicked the radio off before hurrying down the hall.

"Where're we going?" Corin called out, following Charles Martin.

"Turning on the lights!" Martin declared.

-.-

For Kara Osborn, it seemed like this was the one mission where she wasn't needed. Didn't matter to her though. This was why she came to this galaxy to begin with: for missions like these. Even as she sat down to read the medical logs on the ship, she was excited.

It seemed the ship had made a few pit stops on the way here. There were logs on space creatures they had detected when they made it to the galaxy.

She looked up from the binder and glanced at Soren. The brooding man stood leaning against a wall, his thunder rifle in his hand.

"Hey," Kara said. Soren looked over. His face remained contorted into a constant snarl. "If you're bored you can join the rest of the guys."

Soren didn't say anything at first. He just maintained his brooding glare. Kara shrugged. If he didn't want to talk, he didn't want to talk.

"I'll be fine," he suddenly said. Osborn looked up excitedly. It was always an achievement to make a conversation with him.

"You don't have to stay with me," she said, looking back at the binder.

"Are you asking me to leave?" he asked.

"No," Osborn immediately said. "I was just…uh…"

"Having a laugh?" Soren asked slowly. It took Osborn a moment, but she burst out laughing.

"You made a joke," she laughed. "You caught onto my mannerisms." Kara was laughing but Soren just kept his annoyed appearance. Her laugh trailed off as she realized she was the only one laughing. "I wasn't trying to make you leave. You just looked bored, that's all. It's good that you're fitting in."

Soren looked away with a grunt. Osborn looked at him curiously. It was almost as if the question saddened him.

"You're fitting in, right?" Osborn asked.

"It's fine," Soren replied. "Some are just uncomfortable working with a mass murderer."

Kara gave a sigh. She had an idea of who the culprit was.

"Is Steven giving you problems?" she asked. Soren's silence was all the answer she needed. "I'll talk to him."

"It's fine."

"No, the guy needs to let things go."

"I said it's fine," Soren repeated agitatedly. "Doctor Chen simply has a strong sense of justice."

Kara sighed at this. It was almost ironic how alike Soren and Steven were.

"If it really bothers you that badly, then I won't do it for you," she said. "I'll do it for me. He really does need to learn to let things go."

Kara looked at the ground sadly, remembering the good old days.

"You and he once culminated a relationship?" Soren grunted.

"Dating," Osborn corrected. "It's called dating. And yes, back in college."

"May I ask what went wrong?"

Osborn looked at him surprise. The usually silent man was actually trying to start a conversation. She embraced this opportunity. And she didn't mind talking about it.

"There's more to romance than just feelings," she said, closing the binder and putting it back on the shelf. "Steven meant a lot to me. Still does. But he's angry. He's very angry. And I just didn't know if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with someone so hateful."

She was honest when she said that. But she also wanted to see Soren's reaction to this. And she could tell from his reaction that he was beginning to empathize with Chen.

-.-

Martin was calm when he first arrived at this station. But now, he didn't know.

"What the…" Martin muttered as he approached the door in front of them. He and Corin stopped in front of the door, looking at the sliding metal door. But, looking at it now, he really doubted it could slide open. The door was twisted and bent out of shape, a single hole at head-height, the metal twisted toward them.

"What happened here?" Martin muttered as Corin walked up to the door. He fingered the hole, wiping off a thin layer of slime.

"Any ideas?" Corin asked, holding his hand out as if to have Martin look at it. And Martin was focused on it at first. But it wasn't the slime that bothered him. It was the hole.

"Something really wanted to get through here," Martin muttered, walking up to the hole and peering through it. He raised his rifle and aimed his flashlight through the door.

"So you don't think we're alone?" Corin asked, wiping his hands on his vest. Martin lowered his flashlight. He had an answer, but he didn't want to say. But didn't have a choice.

Suddenly, there was a click as the hallway lit up, the lights in the ceiling turning on.

"Yup," he remarked with a sigh. "I don't think we're alone."

-.-

Chen felt like his brain was swelling inside his head. They would die of old age before they would be able to decrypt the system by hand. They had to write a decryption software. But, that still left a lot to do.

It had only been a few minutes since Nova left and his patience was already running thin.

He leaned back with a grumble. He glanced at Hailey, making sure she was busy with her own work. It wasn't just decrypting the systems chewing at his mind. He needed to figure out more about the malware.

"Where is it?" he muttered, skimming the code. "Where is the trigger?" he skimmed down the code, finally stopping at a line. "A 64-bit sequence?"

He was about to continue when he felt something hovering over him.

"Jennifer," Chen muttered. "What are you doing?"

"Wondering what you're muttering about," she replied. Chen didn't bother scrolling away to hide it. Without seeing the rest of the code, there was no way for her to know the details of what he was looking at.

"Look, if you have a secret, you probably shouldn't have told Nova," Hailey sighed. "I love the girl to death but, she doesn't exactly have the best poker face."

Chen grumbled in annoyance. It wasn't like he had a choice. Nova was their leader. If he found out something that had to be kept secret, he had to tell her.

He didn't even bother answering her. He turned around, minimizing the screen of code and pulling up the user interface. That's when he froze.

"Jenny," he said. "You see this?" Hailey leaned forward, looking at the screen.

"Five life signs," she read. There was him and Hailey on the bridge, and Soren and Kara were in the med bay. That left an extra life sign.

"I swear, if those idiots let something into the ship…" Chen groaned, picking up his radio. "Hey, Kara."

Chen waited for a bit before Kara Osborn responded.

"I'm here, Steven," she said cheerfully. "Need something?"

With how on edge he was, hearing Kara so cheerful was actually off putting. He wanted to rush to the med bay to make sure she was safe but he couldn't do that. He had to finish fixing the ship and he had to get rid of whatever this extra life sign was before he did that. He couldn't protect Kara. But there was one person who could. He didn't like it. He hated it. But he had no choice.

"Kara, you have your trazer with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Chen gave a sigh of relief. She wasn't completely defenseless. It was only a non-lethal weapon but it was still something.

"Keep it ready," he said, staring at the computer screen before him. "And…stay by Soren." The moment those words left his mouth, it felt like he needed soap to wash it out. Regardless of what he felt about Soren, the fierri was her only form of protection. "We may have company."

Chen clicked the radio off before going back to the computer, bringing up a map of the ship.

"Steven, I'll take care of whatever that is," Hailey said, picking up her X699. "Keep in touch and tell me where it is."

"We should probably also radio Nova, tell her and the others what's going on."

-.-

Nova had hoped that exploring the abandoned mining station would help get her mind off things. But having the two things on her mind at once was only distracting her from both; probably not the best thing while looking around the station.

"Major Nova," Arcturus said. Nova looked up at the sound of her name. The blonde warrior was staring at her curiously. "You seem preoccupied."

"It's nothing," she said dismissively. She looked down the hall as if to scan for potential threats, but her gaze was drawn back to Samanya Arcturus's face. She could tell from Samanya's expression, the armored warrior was not convinced.

"How's the new position been treating you?" Nova awkwardly asked, trying to change the subject as she continued down the hall. "You were the leader of a secret society of warriors. You sure you're ok with becoming a subordinate?"

Samanya gave an amused chuckle at this question, walking to join Nova as they continued down the empty halls.

"I'll admit, there was some pride to swallow," Samanya said. "But, there were shortcomings to leadership I am more than happy to be rid of. Aurox only knows, my people may still be alive if a more suitable leader were chosen."

It was then Nova noticed the solemn look on Samanya's face. She had forgotten Arcturus still blamed herself for what happened. And Nova had some idea of what she meant when it came to 'shortcomings'.

Finally, Nova stopped walking. She had made up her mind. Besides, they had just walked into what looked like a small mess hall, a decently large square chamber with four columns and three circular tables with chairs scattered about, and a window to the kitchen. This was as good a time as any to talk to her. That was the main reason she chose to partner up with Samanya in the first place. Samanya Arcturus never had any interaction with the Tok'ra so she would not have much of a reaction to the new info.

"Actually, Arcturus," Nova said slowly. "I wanted to ask your advice about something."

"Very well, then," Samanya Arcturus replied, slowing down her pace.

The two of them stopped walking, the alien warrior looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I need you to swear to keep this secret," Nova said.

"You have my vow as a knight of Aurox," Arcturus replied. It was a bit dramatic but it would do. Nova looked around, suddenly second guessing her decision. She was used to asking her teammates for advice, seeing their take on the situation. Now merely asking them for advice was something she was unsure of.

Finally, with a sigh, Nova spoke.

"We know what's causing the problems on the ship."

"A computer virus," Arcturus said. "You made mention of this when we were in the cargo bay."

"There's more. What do you know of the Tok'ra?"

"I've heard of them in passing. They were your people's alien allies, correct?"

Nova nodded. This was before her time but every new SGC personnel knew about the Tok'ra. A shady bunch, no doubt; always planning and scheming, but a good bunch. The Tok'ra, the jaffa, they were all legends for every new SGC personnel.

"Yeah, they fought with us against the Goa'uld, our galaxy's oppressors," Nova said.

"An act I assume brought your peoples together."

Nova looked down at the ground.

"Yeah, you would think that…" she muttered. She couldn't say this felt wrong. It didn't. It felt like the very notion she was entertaining was absurd. The allies of the SGC, they were the good guys. And now she was considering the possibility they may be doing something bad. She must've made a mistake. But it wasn't her that made this discovery. It was Chen. "Chen says the virus was written by the Tok'ra."

Hearing this, Samanya's face darkened. Nova felt like she had consulted the right person. Arcturus knew the ramifications of what this meant. The missing crew, the disabled ship, nearly getting blown up, they were in their current situation because of their own ally.

"Are you certain of this?" she asked.

"Steven's sure about it. I don't know anything about programming."

Nova hoped that Samanya could provide immediate feedback, but even she had to pause to consider the situation.

"Who else knows about this?" the warrior woman asked.

"Just the three of us. I rather not let the others know unless we know more. If they know, it might strain their view of the Tok'ra."

"It is not them I worry about," Arcturus said. "I have to wonder how your leadership will react to this information."

And just as quickly as it came, Nova's confidence vanished. She had forgotten that Samanya didn't know about the conspiracy. If the Tok'ra were up to something, she could not help but think the IOA were too. Still, she had a point. No matter what the Tok'ra was up to, the IOA would never endanger Earth. There was no way they would approve of this virus.

"What should we do about it, then?" Nova asked.

"Until we know more about the situation, we should avoid telling others about this. There's still a possibility that Doctor Chen is mistaken, or that this is deception or an accident. And there is how the Tok'ra will react to this knowledge."

"What do you mean?" Nova asked.

"There is a possibility that if the Tok'ra ever found out we know what they did, they might make everyone that knows about this…disappear."

Nova felt a chill run down her spine. There was something so eerie about that prospect, about the idea that something could make her disappear simply because she knew too much.

"They wouldn't do that, right?" Nova asked. "I mean, they're our allies."

"You mean much the same way they wouldn't plant a virus aboard your ship?"

Nova fell silent. It was true. She didn't think the Tok'ra would make her disappear over this. But she didn't think they would plant a virus on their ship either. Yet they have.

"That said, we do need to inform General Mercer," Arcturus added.

Of all the people Nova would tell, General Mercer was not one of them. If the Tok'ra were up to something, she could not help but shake the feeling that he and Am-heh were as well. Thinking about him now, she could not help but wonder if this and the conspiracy she had learned about before were somehow linked. She remembered when she was read into the conspiracy, she was assured that it was nothing. Simply a minor test conducted by the higher ups, a social experiment to try to recreate a team like SG-1 but one that followed authority. Thinking on it now, she felt like an idiot for believing that to be the whole truth.

"Is there any other way?" Nova asked.

"I'm afraid not," Samanya said. "We need to limit the number of people who know but still confront and resolve things with the Tok'ra. Informing General Mercer makes this possible."

Nova looked to the side. She wanted to argue Arcturus's point but she couldn't. But something told her that if she did tell Mercer, she would get a simple 'we'll look into it' and never hear about the issue again.

"Major Nova," Samanya spoke up, looking at her curiously. "Is there a reason you don't wish to talk to General Mercer?"

Terra Nova bit her lip. She was backed into a corner. She technically wasn't even supposed to tell Wolf Pack about it. Yet she did. Now she had to decide whether or not she should tell Arcturus.

"Well…" she began to say. But Samanya suddenly looked up, a concerned look on her face.

"Did you hear that?" Arcturus asked. Nova turned and looked in the direction Arcturus was facing. She saw nothing. The room was empty.

"Hold on," Nova said, raising her arm and opening the flip screen. She froze as she waved it in the direction Arcturus was looking.

Nothing.

Nova looked back at Arcturus, but the armored blonde gave a confident nod.

The life signs scanner didn't pick up anything. Even if it was wrong, she should've turned away. But she didn't. She walked into the kitchen, toward the cupboards that Arcturus pointed to. Before Nova even knew what she was doing, she had had her way to the cupboards and pulled open the doors.

Then she froze.

The cupboard was a mess. Containers of food were open and strewn about, their contents littered across the floor. But it was not what was on the floor that caught Nova's attention, but what was on the ceiling.

"What the hell…" Nova muttered, her eyes wide. It looked like a dried and shriveled piece of meat, the size of a horse. It looked mummified, brown, and desiccated. But it wasn't just a hanging piece of meat. It was moving.

Nova held up her life sign scanner. It still didn't pick up a life sign from the thing. No. It was detecting something. A blip weakly flickered on the screen, as if the scanner was not sure whether to consider it alive or not. But with every passing second, the signal became stronger as the hanging piece of meat began to stir.

She was beginning to understand what happened to the crew, looking at a pile of bones sitting at the bottom of the cupboard with a few more bones jutting out of the creature's body. Nova had to shiver at the thought of how that thing eats, absorbing her like an all-consuming blob and ejecting her bones when it was done. She could already feel her hands trembling at the prospect.

"Major Nova," Arcturus breathed. "Step away from that thing."

Nova did as she was told and stepped back, watching as the thing became dormant, the signal on the scanner weakening. It was still moving, pulsating like it was breathing. But it was far less than when she opened the cupboard door.

"Arcturus, what is that?" Nova whispered, afraid to disturb the sack of meat.

"Vortrix," Arcturus said in a low voice. "Small pace-dwelling predator."

"You call that small?!" Nova hissed. "That thing's the size of a horse."

"If it gets access to a ship's food, it grows. By this point, we should avoid fighting it."

Nova nodded in agreement. The thing about never ending space adventures, you were always in danger. The two began to move away from the piece of dried meat. Nice and slow...

"HEY, TERRA!"

Nova and Arcturus froze stiffer than stone. Chen's voice crackled through the radio loud and clear. Nova reached down and fumbled with her radio. She had to turn it off. Unable to, she finally did the last thing she could think of.

"Chen, not now!" she hissed through the radio.

Too late.

The piece of meat hanging from the ceiling had sprung to life. The signal on the life signs scanner returned. And soon, Nova realized what she faced was much larger than a mere horse. The massive arms that it had been using to cover its face unfurled, reaching down to the ground. Its long neck and head raised out from underneath its body, a maw of teeth and pincers, a smooth dome where its eyes should be. Its one and only absurdly long hindleg extended out from beneath it, mounting the creature up like a deformed tripod.

The creature reared its head back before lunging forward, its jaws wide. Nova's mind was blank. She didn't know what to do. Suddenly, Arcturus shoved her out of the way, extending her sword so it plunged down the creature's throat. There was an audible click as its blade partially transformed inside the creature's mouth. Nova could see orange flashes in the creature's mouth, the weapon firing. It finally pulled back, roaring in the pain.

"Arcturus, c'mon!" Nova said, grabbing Arcturus by the arm and running toward the door.

-.-

"D'you hear that?" Martin asked, looking at Corin. Corin Nevec was about to answer when a loud boom echoed through the hall. They were approaching a door when it suddenly began to warp. Something had hit the door with enough force that it buckled outward.

"Huh?" was all Corin managed to stutter before the doors finally flew off its hinges. The two of them dove to the side as the door tumbled down the hall, a trail of debris following it. When they looked up, they were stunned by the beast before them, held up by a massive pair of thick arms with a stubby pair of legs at the back. Its head was deformed and mutated, spikes and tendrils jutting forward from what could only be assumed was its mouth.

Corin whipped out his pistol and took aim but Martin had other ideas.

"Forget that," Charles said, grabbing Corin by the hand. "Just run!"

The beast raised its hands and brought it down just as they took off, denting the floor where they had been just a few moments ago.

-.-

Back on the Typhon, Hailey was closing in.

"Take a right," Chen's voice said through the radio. Hailey did as she was told, slowly turning right at the corner. This would've been easier if she had her scanner. She would have to rely on Chen's directions.

"Through the door?" Hailey asked, looking at the sealed room ahead of her.

"That's what the internal scanners say," Chen said through the radio. Hailey eyed the door, preparing her X699. She could already imagine what sort of space monsters lurked within.

"Any word from Nova?" Hailey asked through the radio.

"None. Once we've dealt with whatever this is, we should go look for them."

"We'll talk about it once I get back," Hailey said, clicking the radio off.

Hailey could not help but feel that she had signed her own death warrant by talking about getting back. She walked up to the door, energy weapon in hand, pressing her back against the wall. She gave a sigh before pressing the button. She readied her gun, listening as the door gave a hiss, slowly raising into the ceiling.

Immediately, Hailey dove for cover as blue bolts of energy flew overhead. She pressed herself against the wall of crates. She recognized the gunfire. It was from another X699. Someone was using their own technology. At least she could take comfort that it was not a space monster.

Hailey peeked around the boxes to try to get a layout of where she was at. The room she was in was being used for a storage closet, so she had several stacks of boxes and crates to use for cover. The whole room was a maze of boxes. There were several other stacks forming walls to create what could have been a miniature kill house made of boxes. Whoever was shooting at her was on the far end of the room, using the crates to hide. She would have to navigate the maze of crates and reach the shooter without getting shot. Hailey cradled her X699. She then reached down and stroked the other weapons she had that could be useful: one grenade, her knife, her Berretta, and her trazer pistol. She was glad she brought the trazer with her. She wanted to know who this person was.

So she had a weapon to take the person alive. But that still meant she had to go over there and shoot him. She put her hand on the grenade. That would've been the usual tactic to flush them out, but it would also mean potentially blowing a hole in the side of the ship. Then again, a grenade wasn't a block of C4. Even if it did damage the ship, it probably wouldn't blow a hole that could suck her out into space. Still, any explosion in an enclosed space like this is way more damaging.

Finally, she made up her mind. Hailey disconnected the grenade from her vest. She didn't even bother pulling out the pin. She could guess the general area the shooter was in and that was all that she needed. She reared back and chucked the grenade, pin, lever, and all.

Her plan was in motion. She only had a few seconds for the follow through and prepare to dive for cover if the plan backfired. She was already sneaking around the outside when she heard the clatter of the grenade hitting the floor followed panic footsteps.

It had worked. Whoever this was recognized the grenade but didn't realize the pin was still in it. They dove out from behind the crates to escape the explosion that wasn't going to happen.

Hailey had her.

She aimed her trazer pistol as the figure who had emerged and fired. The pellet filled with the ionized liquid looked like a bolt of blue energy that streaked across the room, hitting the target straight in the chest with a loud and violent crack, a hue of purple jetting out from the impact as the chemicals in the pellet underwent a reaction that released as much electrical energy as a lightning bolt, even the lights in the room flickering.

The figure collapsed to the floor in a heap, steam rising from their body. Hailey kept her trazer trained on the target. But as she approached the heap, her eyes widened when she realized that the person was wearing a uniform. More specifically, it was the uniform for the Typhon. Hailey recognized the battledress she's seen members of the 304 crew wear, but this had the Typhon patch on it instead.

"Jennifer," a voice yelled through the radio. "Jennifer, did you get it?" Hailey knelt down by the form, sliding away the X699 and flipping the body over.

"Yeah," Hailey answered through the radio. "I got her."

"Her?"

"Yeah…It's Athena."

"Wait..what?!" Chen stuttered. "Alright, just tie her up and toss her in the brig. We can deal with her later. Terra and the others aren't responding."

"Alright," Hailey said, grabbing the unconscious Athena by the collar. "We'll meet up on the bridge and plan our next move from there."

-.-

Martin was glad the ion rifle had so little recoil as he squeezed the trigger as quickly as possible. He had hoped the minimum yield would cook the creature, but this wasn't happening. He had thoroughly fried its outer shell but he couldn't cook the rest of the creature.

Corin was right beside him, firing away at the massive brute. They were both backpedaling down the hall, trying to stop the creature's charge. This wasn't the hall they came from but he didn't care. As long as it led back to the hangar. Martin glanced behind them. The door behind them was open, and from the looks of it, it did lead to their destination.

"C'mon," Martin said, tapping Corin on the shoulder. They both turned around and bolted for the door. His heard soared when they went through and found themselves back in the hangar. They were that much closer to the ship, that much closer to safety. He could already see the front end of the ship.

They had reached the Typhon, but they were on the wrong end of it. Their backs were against the front, a massive black wall of metal blocking their way. The ramp was on the other side of the ship.

"C'mon, Corin," Charles said. The two of them were about to run off for the ramp when a boom echoed through the hangar. A massive shipping container came crashing down, sliding across the floor and coming to a stop beside them. Martin looked over in shock. The creature was cutting them off.

"What now?" Corin exclaimed, realizing their path was blocked. Martin looked around. He didn't know where he was in relation to the ship but he could see a massive tube protruding out of the armored wall behind him.

"Oi, Chen!" Martin called out through the radio.

"Charles? Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you."

"Forget about that! Can you open the ship's torpedo tubes?"

"You want me to what? Why?"

"Just do it!"

Martin didn't have time to explain. They were lucky it was a mere animal they were fighting. It didn't realize they were calling for help. Feeling it had them cornered, it was slowly approaching.

"Alright, I can open the outer doors but I can't open the inner one. This has to be done from the torpedo room. I'll send Hailey to open it for you."

"Well, hurry the hell up!"

Martin turned back around, aiming his ion rifle at the approaching beast. He didn't want to provoke it. If he pissed it off, it might come charging, cutting the time they had. If he shot the creature or the floor in front of the creature, it could make it come charging. Or it could scare it off. He couldn't be sure.

Finally, they heard a metallic groan behind them. Out of the corner of her eye, Martin could see light coming from the end of the tube. The torpedo tube was open.

"Corin, go!" Charles yelled. "I'll be behind you!"

Corin immediately complied, jumping up and grasping the edge of the tube before pulling himself in. It was a tight fit; the tube was only slightly wider than a person. Martin slowly backed up. He knew the moment the creature realizes he's escaping, it would turn hostile.

He really hated fighting on a space station. He wanted to blow the creature to hell. But doing that might blow a hole into space. He was going to have to just leap into the torpedo tube and hope he could get away fast enough.

Suddenly, Chen's voice came crackling through the radio. And he was pissed.

"Charles, get out of the way!" Steven Chen roared. Martin didn't even question. He dove to the ground. He heard a loud metal clang like two massive steel pipes followed by a deafening crash in front of him, the sound of a thousand metal tools crashing to the ground, the smashing of steel containers, and the crunch of concrete. He could feel a gust of air from whatever happened, sprinkles of metal and power spraying onto him. When he looked up, the creature was gone and there was a path of twisted metal where it used to be. Everything in front of him was now gone; flattened and scattered about.

"What the hell was that?" Martin barked through the radio. He knew why Chen told him to get down. Whatever it was turned the all the metal crates into curly fries. If he had been standing up, he's be a cloud of red mist.

"Sorry," Hailey responded through the crackling radio. "Thought firing a torpedo might help."

"Are You Crazy?!"

"Don't worry. I took out the warhead and engine. The torpedoes used pressurized air for the launch. All I really did was shoot it with a giant slab of metal from an air cannon."

Charles growled in annoyance. He was beginning to understand how the others felt when he sniped at someone over their shoulder.

He looked at the path of twisted metal where the creature had been standing mere moments ago, the metal crates that were once stacked upon each other now scattered about, most of them split open and all of them deformed in some way.

Martin looked back at the ship. He should get on board while he had the chance. Still…

"Oi, Steven. Where's the Major?"

"She still isn't responding."

Martin looked at the damaged wall at the back of the hangar. He wouldn't be surprised if there were more of those things crawling around and that was the reason the Major wasn't answering the radio.

It was then some movement in the distance caught his eye. He looked at the door they had come through earlier. He could see something moving behind the door through the hole they had made earlier. Martin flipped up the scope on his rifle and aimed at the door, preparing to blow away any monsters that came through. That's when he saw a head full of dark-auburn hair emerge.

It was Major Nova.

Soon, a blonde head emerged, Samanya Arcturus stepping through the hole.

"Oi!" Martin called out, waving his arms. Nova waved back to indicate she saw him.

-.-

On the ship, Corin and Hailey finally made it back to the bridge. Chen was still busy at the computer while watching the screens monitoring the outside. What surprised Corin was that Soren and Osborn were also on the bridge.

"Corin, you ok, man?" Chen asked.

"I'm fine," Corin sighed. He was exhausted from all the running and the recoil from shooting his pistol so quickly almost nonstop made his wrist sore.

"What the hell are those things anyways?" Hailey asked.

"I think it's a vortrix," Corin sighed. "They're small space-dwelling animals."

"That thing was not small!" Chen snapped, pointing at the monitors.

"It's possible its growth was the result of it being in such a rich environment," Osborn suddenly intervened. "It's possible that since it's in a more habitable environment, its cells entered a state of overgrowth."

"But you're just speaking out of your ass right now," Chen remarked.

"An art learned from you," Osborn said, immediately earning an agitated glare.

"Regardless," Corin said, throwing his hands up to quiet everyone down. "They're probably why this place was abandoned in such pristine condition."

"Yeah," Chen scoffed. "Pristine until Hailey trashed it nearly blew us all to hell."

"You're overreacting," Hailey scoffed wave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You mean like how you overreacted when you grenaded me in the face?" Chen asked.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"You grenaded me in the face!"

"Flash bang," Hailey corrected. "And I told you. I took out the warhead and disabled the engine."

"What'd you do with the fuel tank?" Chen asked.

-.-

The moment Arcturus was through the door, she turned around and aimed her rifle at the hole.

"It appears the creature has given up pursuit," she said, weapon at the ready. She looked at Nova. The woman was already tired from the fight with the monster.

"Don't worry about me," Nova said, noticing Arcturus's concerned expressions while trying to catch her breath. Arcturus sometimes forgot that these people weren't genetically enhanced like she was.

"Go back to the ship," the knight said. "I will ensure that we are not followed before joining you.

"We'll go together," Nova insisted, grabbing Arcturus by the shoulder. Samanya looked at Nova in surprise. It wasn't the logical thing to do. It would've been more logical to have her watch their back until the leader could get to safety.

Before either of them could speak, a loud crash practically deafened them as the wall suddenly gave way. The shaking rattled the already weakened ceiling. Arcturus shoved Nova back with all her strength as a ceiling beam came crashing down between the two of them, the floor above them crashing down. Arcturus looked around, spotting the vortrix trying to smash through the weakened wall, the violent entrance causing that half of the hangar to collapse. Its head had forced its way through the wall but it still slammed against it to force its way through, not realizing it was bringing down half the room.

"Arcturus!" Nova called from the other side of the wall of rubble. Arcturus could see her through the twisted frame the separated the two of them. She could also see Charles run up to the Major and grab her by the warm.

"Lieutenant, get Major Nova out of here!" Arcturus ordered, readying her weapon. Martin nodded before he and Nova took off. She turned around and readied her weapon, prepared to cover their retreat. She aimed her rifle at the vortrix's head, prepared to fire. She was so focused on the creature shoving its way through the wall she was startled when she felt a hand slide into hers.

"Charles?!" she gasped, watching as he grabbed her by the hand and began dragging her away. She could've fought back, refused to move. But she and Martin both ran for cover.

It was good thing too. The vortrix slammed into the wall once more, loose beams falling from the ceiling, one of them spearing an exposed metal container inside a twisted metal tube, a tube that used to be a torpedo. Already damaged from the debris falling upon it, the moment the canister of pressurized gas was breached its contents erupted, the container turning into a massive grenade. A cloud of frozen gas engulfed that part of the hangar, shards of metal shooting in all directions as the remains of the canister and any loose debris were shoot like shrapnel.

And as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. The clouds of vapor dissipated, revealing the now frozen debris. Even the vortrix had become frozen solid. It had grown too big for its own good, now vulnerable to temperatures it could once withstand.

Arcturus and Martin looked up. The metal container had shielded them from the blast but Martin had thrown himself on Arcturus for good measure. But with the threat gone, he could get off.

"What was that?" Arcturus asked, looking at the frost-laden rubble.

"It's the torpedo Hailey fired earlier," Martin grumbled. "The debris must've punctured the gas tank."

Arcturus glanced at the force shield covering the entrance to the hangar. They were lucky the fighting was taking place away from the shield. Regardless, they had to be careful about what destruction they caused. One wrong move and they could get blown out into space.

Samanya Arcturus looked around, spotting Major Nova standing at the base of the ramp into the ship. She gave the Major a nod, showing they were ok. It was over for now.

But there was still one more thing she had to address.

"Lieutenant," Arcturus said, looking at Martin. "Thank you for saving me as you did…but would you mind unhanding me?"

It was then Martin realized that he was still holding Samanya's hand.

"Oh, sorry!" he said nervously, jumping to his feet. But as he stood up, he froze, his face turning pale.

"Charles, what is the matter?" Arcturus asked, her eyes now wide with worry. Martin covered his mouth with his hand as if to hold in vomit. But it wasn't barf that came out of his mouth. It was blood. Arcturus caught him in her arms and helped him down to his knees. From there, she could see it: two twisted pieces of metal in his side. The act of jumping to his feet had contracted the muscles around them, forcing them deeper into the wounds. Arcturus looked at Nova, who must've realized something was wrong and was already running toward them.

"Charles, hold on," she said, but he didn't seem to react to her voice. "Charles!"

-.-

Martin groaned in pain. It felt like his intestines were burning. He wanted to open their eyes but it felt like they were glued shut. Still, he knew he had to get up. With an annoyed groan, he opened his eyes. Immediately, the light practically blinded him. But, after a few moments, his eyes adjusted. He was staring up at the ceiling, light pouring out of small a small hole. He tilted his head to the side, looking around the room. He could see hospital beds to his right, shelves of books, a cabinet of supplies, and a desk with a computer. He tilted his head to the left.

He was still a bit dazed but, now that he was getting his bearings, he could hear Chen and Nova talking outside. He looked down, noticing he was no longer in his uniform and was now wearing a hospital gown instead.

He tried to sit up but immediately stopped. It felt like his intestines were tearing themselves apart.

"Martin," a voice said. Charles Martin at the door. Samanya had walked in, probably hearing his pained groans from earlier. "He's awake," she called into the hallway. She calmly walked up to his bed as the others filed in.

"Hey," Nova said. "How you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot," Martin groaned. He reached over to his side to feel his wound but immediately recoiled in pain. Moving made it burn but touching it sent jolts of pain through his body.

"Technically speaking, you were," Osborn remarked, walking around the hospital bed. "You got hit by three pieces of shrapnel. Two of the pieces were pretty big and kinda sticking out so they were easy to get. I kinda had to cut you open for the third one."

"Too much information, doc," Martin commented. "So, I guess our routine mission just became not-so-routine?"

"You can say that," Hailey sighed. "We may have minimized energy usage, but we can't keep heat forever. The core finally gave out. We're venting the heat we've built up."

"Uhh…isn't that a bad thing?" Corin asked. "I mean, we're venting heat right into the hangar."

"Assuming Hailey built it right," Chen said.

"Which I did!" Hailey added in protest.

"Then the heat's vented at a controlled rate. The hangar'll be a little uncomfortable but it's survivable."

"Nova," Hailey spoke up. "There's something else. We aren't alone on the ship."

Almost everyone looked at her in alarm. They had just survived an encounter with a space monster and their imagination ran wild with what could have gotten on.

"Did one of the monster get on board?" Martin asked.

"It wasn't that," Hailey said to calm the panicked group. "We found Athena hiding in one of the cargo holds."

"Athena?!" Nova repeated, her eyes wide with shock. Martin vaguely remembered Athena. He knew that Nova had way more interaction with her when they went back to Earth but he remembered Athena ended up being a massive help in ending The Trust.

"She's the Goa'uld that helped us with operation Typhon," he asked. "What's she doing here?"

"And how didn't we detect her life signs?" Corin added.

"What about Earth?" Nova added. "What happened after the Trust?"

"You can ask her that yourselves," Chen said, reaching over to a computer, and hitting the button. Instantly, an image of Athena in one of the cells in the brig appeared. Nova gave a very irritated sigh.

"I'll go talk to her," she groaned.

"Me and Steven should get back to trying to fix the computers," Hailey said.

"Major Nova," Arcturus spoke up. "I'd like to stay in the infirmary and watch over Lieutenant Martin."

"You know Kara can-" Steven started to say when Osborn cut him off.

"Sure," she said, giving him an elbow. "I'll probably be in the back room."

Martin and Arcturus looked at Kara in confusion.

"Well, I'll leave you lot to it then," Nova sighed, giving a wave as she and Corin left the room. Hailey and Chen left and went down the opposite hall. Finally, Kara walked away, vanishing into the med-bay's back room.

Charles Martin laid back. He thought this mission would require no effort on his part. Now, he was in a hospital bed after getting three pieces of metal yanked out. It was almost humorous how ironic life could get.

Charles looked over at Arcturus, who remained standing by his bed, her back straight and her face solemn. Well, her face was always solemn, but it didn't have the warmth is usually had. She seemed dead serious about whatever was on her mind.

"You know you don't have to keep an eye on me," Martin remarked, laying back.

"Unless there are other enemies nearby, my skills are not required," Arcturus said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "There is, however, something I wish to talk to you about. Your actions earlier, I must insist you avoid doing something like that again."

Martin was almost taken aback by her tone. He hadn't heard her speak to him like that since they first met.

"What? You mean saving you? The gas canister was about to blow. I couldn't just leave you there."

"It goes beyond that. Even after we took cover, you chose to shield me with your body. With my personal shield and armor, my chances of surviving are far higher than yours."

Martin gave an awkward cough. He had forgotten. Arcturus had her shield and her armor had been repaired. It didn't make much sense for him to do the covering.

"Uh…call it second nature," he said.

"I rather call it stupidity."

Martin gave an awkward cough. Here he was in a hospital bed and she was calling him an idiot. Arcturus was never one to hide what she thought be this seemed harsh.

"All joking aside, though, I insist you not do that again," she continued.

"Ok, so you were joking."

"Charles," Samanya said sternly. "It is something I wish for you to consider. You have an unhealthy pension for making paragon choices without consideration of your actions. From what I've heard, this is something you've done even before I joined your Expedition."

"Well, yeah. I'm just trying to do what's right. You're a knight. You should know something about that."

"There is nothing wrong with doing selfless actions. But if you don't consider the consequences you may end up causing even more harm. In many ways our first encounter is a perfect example of this."

"What?" Charles scoffed. "How? I was helping you."

"You were helping an individual you knew nothing of, not even their face, in a pirate haven of all places, with missions you knew nothing about without any question. Don't misunderstand, I am grateful for what you did, but if I had been a slaver then you would have walked into my trap."

"I know what you're saying, but...I don't know if I can necessarily follow. I was always told that those with power have the responsibility to use that power to do as much good as possible. Money, influence, the important part is doing what's right."

Arcturus looked to the side. Charles looked at her curiously. It was obvious that something was on her mind.

"I fear that what is right may become more blurred in the future," she said.

-.-

Corin looked at the monitor into the cell that held Athena. Soren loomed over her, his shotgun in his hand. As if that wasn't enough, Soren had even attached his axe-head bayonet, a fierce blade with a point jutting out the front so he could stab but he could also bring it down like an axe. If Athena tried anything, Soren would blow her away assuming he didn't cut her down.

"Shall we?" Corin asked, gesturing toward the door. Nova nodded. Corin reached for the keypad the kept the cell door locked, then realized he didn't know the code. "I don't suppose…"

Nova laughed at Corin before typing the code into the keypad. After a moment, the door slid open. Soren glanced at the entrance as the two of them stepped inside.

"Has she said anything?" Nova asked the brooding man.

"She has refused to talk to anyone except you," Soren grunted, holding his shotgun at the ready.

"You can stand down."

Obeying her order, Soren walked to the corner. He leaned up against the wall, placing the butt of his weapon on the ground.

When Nova walked up, Athena finally moved, looking up at Nova with a leer.

"Hello, Major Nova," the goa'uld said in her usual distorted voice. Corin could not help but feel a chill. If he recalled, the first time he ever heard a Goa'uld's voice was from Am-heh in General Mercer's body. But it's been a while and hearing it just gave him chills.

"Athena…what the hell are you doing here?" Nova asked.

"I'm part of the crew," Athena answered with a cocky smile, as if she knew Nova would take issue with this but could do nothing about it. But, that's assuming it's true. "I was taken aboard to serve as their engineer."

"Yeah…I have to call you out on that," Corin said.

"Believe what you want," Athena replied, looking away.

"Hey, Terra," Corin said, tugging Nova to talk to her in private. With them moving away, Soren moved back into position.

"Mind filling me in?" Corin hissed once they were in private.

"It was that operation I told you about when were went back to earth," Nova explained. "Athena helped us complete it; even saved my life."

"So can we trust her? Everything I read about the Goa'uld always said not to trust them."

Nova looked at the side, clearly unsure what to say.

"It's a little disturbing that's she's part of the crew," she remarked. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"I don't think anyone's above forgiveness," Corin said. "I mean, you guys took in a jaffa. We have a Goa'uld in charge of the expedition. And we're working with Soren too."

"So you think we can trust her? I mean, what if she's lying?"

"Well, she hasn't said anything so we don't even know what she could be lying about. Look, like it or not, we need to at least hear what she has to say."

Nova gave a sigh of defeat. Corin could only imagine what was going on through his leader's mind. Corin has read horror stories involving the Goa'uld. And now, one was assigned to work on the Typhon by the very organization Nova trusted.

"Yeah, you're right," she grumbled. She motioned at Athena and the two of them walked back to the center of the room. Seeing the two approach, Soren walked back to his corner.

"Alright, Athena," Nova said. "Let's say we believe you. What happened here?"

Nova may be keeping the topic on the Typhon, but Corin could tell she wanted to ask about Earth. But he also knew she had to prioritize what was important.

"We were still in hyperspace when this happened," Athena explained. "The safety protocols forced the ship out of hyperspace. The computers locked us out. Engines, weapons, and shields were offline. And we began venting atmosphere. The crew were unable to resolve the problem and they feared the ship would become uninhabitable. There were no habitable planets within traveling range of the escape pods. Eventually, Captain Connors made the decision to put all personnel into the ship's buffer. I was to remain behind to try to resolve the issue. It was deemed one person would conserve the atmosphere, and I was the logical choice."

"Major Nova," Soren suddenly spoke. "There is another issue we must address. When we first arrived, we did not detect any signs of life. How did she elude our life-sign scanners?"

Corin looked back at Athena. It was a good question. They were sure that no one was alive on board and yet she was.

"As you know, symbiotes have full control of their host's body. I detected an unidentified ship approach so I hid in the cargo bay and entered a state akin to kel'noreem. I lowered my body's functions until it no longer registered on a life signs detector."

"You telling me the uniforms didn't give it away that it was us?" Nova scoffed.

"I was unsure. Two of you were not wearing the Tau'ri uniforms."

Corin glanced at Soren. He knew Athna was talking about Soren and Arcturus. Arcturus had her entire body covered in Aurox armor, a full suit of metal plates. Soren wore a black long coat atop his Valken scout armor, the dark gray vest, belt, and faulds visible beneath it.

"Well, did you make any progress fixing the ship?" Corin asked.

"I had just discovered the presence of a virus on your computers and had begun understanding that virus when I detected your ship."

"So not much progress at all," Nova sighed in disappointment.

Before any of them could say more, their radios crackled to life.

"Everyone report to the bridge," Hailey said. Corin exchanged glances with Nova, unsure what she could possibly want everyone for.

"Does that mean him too?" Corin asked, looking at Soren.

-.-

Getting to the bridge was a short walk with the size of the ship. Nova led Corin and Soren into the room, where Hailey and Chen were waiting. Martin, Arcturus and Osborn were on one of the monitors.

Immediately, Nova knew why they were called.

"What's is that?" she asked, looking at the image of several ships on screen. "Damacans?"

"Wish it was," Chen said. "Their emblems have all been scratched off and parts of other ships have been cannibalized for repairs. I think Corin and Arcturus might recognize them."

"Space pirates," Corin breathed. "How'd they detect us?"

"We're venting the stored energy. That's the downside of the Hephaestus core. It has to release its built up energy."

"We've been monitoring a few pirate ships patroling the edge of Damacan territory," Hailey explained. "There were a few skirmishes. It looks like a few of them picked up on our energy signature."

"I don't suppose we might get one of the friendlier ones," Martin remarked.

"Unlikely," Arcturus said. "The less hostile factions do not patrol Damacan space."

"So we're probably in for a fight."

"How long?" Nova asked.

"If they continue their current trajectory," Hailey said. "They'll be here within the hour."


	3. Chapter 3

There was a click and a map of the space station appeared on screen. It was a lot more complex than Nova expected, but it still didn't hold a candle to Millennium. Everyone was gathered on the bridge with the exception of Martin and Arcturus, who had to watch from a screen in the infirmary.

"Alright, I've completed a thorough scan of the station," Hailey explained to everyone. "We're here, in the main hangar. I've also picked up an auxiliary hangar meant for shuttles, and a shipping hangar for goods and supplies." On screen, three of the largest rooms were highlighted. It was obvious they were in the largest one. There was also a slightly smaller one, and a rather long one highlighted too.

"What can we expect from these pirates?" Soren grunted.

"The emblem is the Brotherhood of the Damned," Corin explained, looking at the image showing a deformed four-eyed and fanged skull on the screen.

"What is it with these pirates and edge-lord names?" Martin remarked. "Was the Evil Coalition of Dark Lords too on-the-nose?"

"The Brotherhood is strong in man power," Arcturus said. "Fortunately, their technology suffers. They're energy weapons are powerful but they don't provide any advantages over yours. It'll be their numbers that we have to worry about. They will be looking for plunder, any valuable metals or technology to take."

"But even if we manage to hold one off, we've detected more pirate ships," Hailey added. "If we don't fix the ship, we definitely aren't making it out of here."

"Can you fix it before the pirates arrive?" Corin asked.

"Yeah, not a chance," Chen said. Chen may have seemed pessimistic about the situation, but Martin was the exact opposite.

"So we just hold them off until you do," he said enthusiastically.

"You mean six of you hold off an entire crew of pirates? Did you become stupid or something?"

"Less than six," Corin pointed out. "Me and Kara can't fight. And Charles is injured. That only leaves Terra, Arcturus, and Soren since Jen and Steven are fixing the ship."

The room fell silent. Three able fighters but that was it.

Nova looked to the side, not sure how to take this info. SG-1 has always faced overwhelming numbers of soldiers and come out on top. But they weren't SG-1. She had a feeling they couldn't just hunker down behind cover and mow down the enemy as they come. These weren't unstoppable Ror'char troopers that just refuse to die nor the Quinteran berserkers that would descend upon them in mere seconds. They weren't utterly screwed, but they were still in trouble. If they couldn't figure out a strategy, they would get overrun.

"Hey, Hailey," Chen spoke up. "Were you able to find the control center?"

The blonde looked at Chen curiously. It certainly wasn't the question she was expecting.

"Yeah. It's…uh…it's right here," she said, highlighting a part of the map on screen. Chen leaned in, his hand to his chin as he looked at its position.

"Steven?" Nova asked, looking at her teammate.

"Well, since we're in control of the station, we have home field advantage," he explained. "Let's use it."

This was the first good news they had. Immediately, many of their faces brightened as they finally had something go in their favor. Nova remembered when Chen stopped the Ror'char on Millennium by increasing its artificial gravity. Nova's brain already went wild with the possibilities. Gravity, atmosphere, security systems, Chen would seize the whole station and destroy the pirates.

"You think you can hack the Damacan computers?" Corin asked, clearly thinking the same thing.

"Hack it? No. I need to know their programming language. But I should be able to get it to perform some basic functionalities. You know, close doors, turn off lights."

And just like that, Nova's hopes dropped. They might've been able hold off the pirates of they could vent atmosphere or multiply the gravity in certain sections. But Nova struggled to imagine what they could do with this.

"Oh, turn off the lights," Osborn remarked. "You hope them to be scared of the dark?"

"I'm with the Doc on this one," Martin said. "You hoping they'll just stand in the doorway and let you squish them?"

Chen was about to retort when Soren cut him off.

"Doctor Chen," the fierri said. "You're certain you can control those functions?"

"I think I can do that much, but probably not more," Chen said. Nova gave Chen a sideways glance. The way he said this to Soren sounded friendly enough. Too friendly. Too friendly to the point of stiff. Chen was actually forcing himself to play nice.

Nova heard Soren give a low growl. But it didn't sound like an angry or threatening growl. More like he was contemplating what Chen said.

"You have an idea?" she asked.

"The housing area," Soren grunted, pointing at a portion of the screen. "It is a maze of tight hallways and interconnected rooms with sharp turns. If Doctor Chen can do as he says, I believe we can lock down that area."

"How many you think you can take?" Nova asked.

"It is not a matter of quantity but time."

"You're kidding me…" Corin coughed. "You telling me you can handle a hundred soldiers no problem?"

"I did not say that," Soren said calmly. "I only say it is possible for me with enough time and assistance." Nova was still skeptical but Soren knew his killing abilities better than anyone. His entire childhood was spent training for combat and advanced military tactics and his adulthood was spent using that training to kill dozens of people many of whom were Valken Royal Guards on patrol.

"How many can we expect?" Nova asked, looking at Arcturus.

"Likely about sixty pirates," Arcturus said. "They won't want to overcommit their forces."

Nova looked at Hailey.

"You think we can rely on his estimates?" Nova asked. Soren killing a hundred people seemed a bit farfetched.

"If I am incorrect, you only lose a mass murderer," Soren said. "Let me do what I am good at."

Nova looked at Hailey again for help.

"I don't see the why not," she replied.

"Alright," Nova said. "Steven, you ok with this?"

Ultimately it was Chen's answer that mattered. He never acted out on it but they all knew Chen had an issue with Soren. And it was obvious he was not ok with this. But, his answer surprised Nova.

"Sure," he said enthusiastically. Had it been anyone else, they might've bought Chen's enthusiasm. But he and Nova had been on a team long enough that she could see through the charade.

Nova wanted to try to talk to him about it but this wasn't the time.

"Here, use this," Hailey said, reaching over and suddenly undoing the velcro that held the wrist-mounted scanner to Nova's wrist. Nova wanted to protest, but she knew now wasn't the time for something petty.

Hailey gave the scanner to the fierri, who looked at it curiously.

"If you're doing what I think you're doing, that'll help," Hailey said.

"I appreciate the gesture," Soren grunted, holding out a hand. It took Hailey a moment, but she realized it was a handshake. Nova had to chuckle as Soren and Hailey gave a single firm shake. When they first encountered the fierri, the aliens didn't know what a handshake was. Soren had picked up on it by being with them.

"So that's one quarter of the station," Hailey said, the housing section of the station lighting up. "We still need to cover the rest of it though."

"Oi, Hailey," Martin said, his voice crackling through the speakers. "That shipping hangar looks a bit long. I think I can use that."

"No," Nova said firmly.

Even through the monitor Nova could feel Martin's pouty look.

"Major, c'mon," he insisted. "That hangar's gotta be at least six-hundred meters in length. Perfect for sniping."

"You're injured. I'm not putting you in a firefight."

"If we do this right then I won't be."

"Nova," Hailey spoke up. "I think we should hear him out." Terra looked at her in shock. She would've thought Hailey would be the voice of reason here. She and Hailey may have been the same rank, but Hailey was just an attachment to her team. She could easily order Martin to keep quiet, regardless of what is idea was. It was her team. But that just didn't feel right in her gut, telling a subordinate to shut up when they had an idea. She remembered what happened last time she was so sure of her own ideas.

"Fine," Nova groaned. Lieutenant Martin immediately got to babbling.

"The other hangar looks big enough that I should be able to take up sniper position," Martin explained. "If you guys can provide cover fire, I'll be able to pick them off."

Nova looked at the shipping hangar on the map. It spanned practically half the station but it was narrow. She had no idea what Martin could be on about. Hailey must've felt the same way.

"I'm not sure I follow," Hailey remarked.

"We're going to be horribly outnumbered and we need ever advantage we can get. I think I can even the odds a bit. If I take up sniper position at the far end, the entire hangar is in my line of light. They won't want to move out of fear of getting shot."

"So you want us to get into a firefight with them while you snipe?"

"You don't need to hit your targets. Just buy me time and keep their attention. And I can pick them off one by one. You only need to do covering fire."

"That's great for you but what about us?" Nova asked. "There's a good chance they'll be able to surround us in an open area like that."

"Not to mention we'd probably get riddled in the process," Hailey added. "It's better than a straight firefight but whoever's helping is going to be facing down a lot of gunfire."

"Then I shall be the one," Arcturus spoke up. "My personal shield and armor will allow me to afford taking a few shots."

"Take a few shots," Nova repeated. "You're still going to be outnumbered."

"I'm with Major Nova on this," Hailey agreed. "It's not like Soren doing his creeper thing. You don't stand a chance."

Immediately, this remarked received an angry glare from Arcturus, clearly offended by the implication.

"I will make you rue those words," she said.

"I'm not saying you won't be able to take a couple dozen with you," Hailey clarified. "But I think you're in way over your head without more help."

"What about the Chimera system?" Corin asked. "Give her all the holo-projectors. Make it look like they're fighting an army."

"Problem: we didn't bring any with us," Chen pointed out.

"But did the Typhon bring any with them?"

Nova and Chen both exchanges glances.

"He has a point," she said.

"I think the fact that everyone in your 'army' looks the same would give it away," Chen remarked.

"It shouldn't matter," Martin said. "I just need something to draw their attention and the decoys should draw their fire. If you can buy me enough time, I should be able to snipe them all."

"You think that'll be enough?" Hailey asked, clearly uncertain at the prospect of two versus an army.

"Hold on a sec," Chen spoke up. "When we went to Millennium, we took along a shipment of tacs. You know, the ones now in the gate room. You think this ship has any tacs?"

Nova and Hailey exchanged glances, almost surprised they didn't think of that.

"So that's just leaves me," Nova sighed.

"That leaves a couple of us," Corin corrected. "Me and Kara can't fight."

"Also," Hailey added. "We still have to cover our hangar and we need to fix the ship."

"Actually, Major Hailey," Arcturus spoke up. "I don't believe we need to cover our hangar. With the Typhon inside, they will avoid landing here. They will assume the ship's weapons are online and will destroy them on approach."

"Can't they just shoot us?" Chen asked. "I mean, we're docked. We're not going anywhere."

"They could, but they wish to take the ship. Which means they will land shuttles. But they will not land it in this hangar to avoid being destroyed on approach."

"So it's a bluff," Nova remarked.

"In a sense. They may eventually attempt it but it is unlikely they will land in this hangar on the first approach."

Nova gave a weak chuckle. Before it seemed like they were doomed. Now, they had a chance.

"There still an issue," Hailey spoke up. "If Steven's helping with the fight, that's one less hand helping me with the virus."

Nova felt her shoulders sag. Hailey was right. They needed to defend the station. But they also needed to cure the virus. So, she could either take Chen away from defense, or leave Hailey fixing the virus by herself.

"Can you switch roles?" Nova suggested.

"Does that even make a difference?" Chen asked. "That's still one person fixing the virus."

"And we still have half a station to cover," Arcturus reminded.

Nova gave a sigh. Just when everything seemed to be looking up, she finds out there were strings attached. She had to find a way to have the eight of them find off a band of space pirates with their unique skills.

No.

There weren't just eight of them. There's nine.

"What about Athena?" Nova asked. Immediately, everyone who knew about the Goa'uld looked at her in utter shock.

"You can't be serious," Hailey said.

"You bloody kidding me?" Martin exclaimed.

"Alright, listen," Nova said, trying to calm everyone down. "She's helped us before. And the SGC clearly trusts her enough to attach her to the Typhon. So if the SGC trusts her, I think so should we."

Nova may have sounded confident, but she was anything but. This was all backwards. They were asking a Goa'uld for help with a problem caused by the Tok'ra.

"Yeah…no," Chen said flatly. "For one, why would she even agree to help us to begin with? At least before she knew she was probably going to be hunted down and killed if we failed."

"If I recall, it's always been Athena's MO," Corin said. "From what I've read, she attaches herself to the most powerful Goa'uld and serves under them. That's how she gets power."

"So, she's a leech."

"So you're saying since the Goa'uld are gone, she's kissing our ass since that just about the only power she can have," Nova concluded.

"Then you best keep an eye on her," Arcturus advised. "There are many very powerful warlords in this galaxy. If her allegiance is based on power, then there is the risk she will ally with another."

"We can worry about that later," Nova said, putting her hand to her forehead. "Hailey, it's your choice. You can keep Chen or take our chances with Athena."

Jennifer Hailey groaned at the situation placed before her.

"Alright," she said. "I'll take my chances. But if she tries anything, I'm shooting her."

"Alright, so we have the virus situation covered. But we still have half the space station that's vulnerable."

Steven, Martin, Arcturus, and Soren were all going to be fighting. And Hailey was going to be fixing the ship. That only left her. She was the only one left to fight…and cover half the space station.

"Maybe we can take a page from the Damacans," Corin suggested. "They've always been on the brink of extinction and their neighbors are always threatening to invade. So they use the environment to help win their battles."

"I thought that's what we're doing," Chen remarked.

"No, I mean more than just shutting doors."

"What do you have in mind?" Nova asked.

"The vortrix. Lock them in. It's hard to hack a door when there's a monster eating you."

Nova looked at Corin. He said it with a straight face but she could tell he was not at all comfortable with this. He had enough trouble shooting someone and now he was suggesting they lock living beings with a monster that would eat them alive.

"I think we should try to have them converge around the mess hall and increase the temperature in that section," Osborn suggested.

"What the hell is that supposed to do?" Chen asked. Everyone in the expedition trusted Osborn's medical opinion. Still, even this seemed like a stretch.

"It's the reason these things look the way they do," Kara Osborn explained. "We're not close to a star so there isn't much energy to receive out here, and there isn't much life so they don't get many nutrients either. Their growth is tied to it. That's why they're so large. They got huge doses of both nutrients and energy so their cells entered a state of overgrowth."

"How do you know all this?" Corin asked.

"The crew have actually been observing these creatures," Osborn explained. "There's a research journal detailing all this. They'll be attracted to energy so we can use a flare or thermite or something to attract them."

"Doctor," Soren spoke up. "Is this ship not releasing energy right now because of the core?"

Chen's face sagged at this.

"I guess we can't spend too much time talking then," he sighed, wiping his brow. "I'll close the doors and try to seal them away. But you sure a bunch of monsters can hold them off?"

"They chased the Damacans from their own mining station," Corin pointed out. "They're also notoriously hard to kill. There's a chance."

Nova looked around the room. When they started, it seemed that they had no hope. Now there was some. They were scrounging everything for any advantage they could get but it was something.

"Alright," Nova said with a smile. "Let's do this."

-.-

They had less than an hour so it was all hands on deck. Corin and Arcturus were in the shipping hangar. Arcturus was at work moving crates and equipment around, some of them several times her size. Corin had a simpler job. He went around, finding all sorts of tiny tools and scraps, and setting up the tacs.

Go'auld sentry drones, tacluchnatagamuntoron were the size and shape of a baseball, ready to riddle any warm target with energy bolts. Tacs were used in sets and all controlled from a data pad. Set them up, arm them, and let them go to work. One man could have the power of an army with the press of a button.

Arcturus set up a crate and Corin would go over, pile a bunch of tools and random pieces of junk before putting the tac on top and finishing it off with more stuff on top of that. Nobody was going to notice the tiny orb on top of a crate in the middle of a firefight.

They went around the hangar doing this. Corin found plenty of excellent hiding spots for these apple-sized weapons. They didn't even need to be head height. He found plenty of spots below the knees and pointed up.

"Are you finished, Professor?" Arcturus asked as she finished moving the last crate in place.

"All done," Corin said, walking up to her with a data pad. He looked at the flat glass-like tablet. They looked out across their creation, several rings of cover to provide the illusion of cover with a wide area in the middle where the knight would stand.

"If you don't mind me asking," Corin spoke up, looking at the setup. "There are a couple of openings the pirates could sneak though." Corin pointed at a few pathways the lead through the rings.

"No defense is without weak points," Arcturus explained. "What we do is create weak points to try to funnel them through."

"Then turn it into killing fields," Corin finished, finally understanding. The knight nodded in response.

"Lieutenant," she said through the radio. "How's it look?"

The two of them glanced up toward the back of the hangar, toward a control center at the top of the hangar. The windows had been shattered so he could shoot out of it without getting caught. The control center at the end of the shipping hangar had a few computer stations facing the window. Martin had made his home at one of those stations, sitting in a chair with a K14 sniper rifle resting on the table.

"Looks clear to me," Charles said through the radio. "You just need to keep them occupied, Sam. I'll do the rest."

-.-

In the control room, Chen was looking at all the screens on the wall before him. He glanced down at the laptop in front of him. It wasn't much of a 'hack'. He could only mimic the input of a few controls but he couldn't do much else.

Four of the screens held a map of the different parts of the station, the others showing video footage of the halls.

"Soren," Chen said. "You finished?"

He could see the fierri on one of the cameras, standing in the hall ominously, carefully observing everything around him.

"I'm finished," he said, stomping off. "Did you get all my designations?"

Chen typed a command into the prompt on his computer, looking at the replica of the map of the station, each door given a unique designation. He was ready to close any of the doors at a moment's notice.

"Got them," Chen said.

"Remember, Doctor," Soren remarked. "I will not last long in a firefight. I do not have the cover I would in the wilderness, so I will need your support."

With that said, Soren cocked his shotgun.

-.-

Nova stood at the end of the hall, slightly trembling. It seemed odd. She faces death every time she goes into a firefight. But it was these weird vortrix things that scared her the most. Her single close encounter had terrified her, the sight of the food just getting absorbed into its body made her imagine herself getting sucked into the thing as well.

"You sure about this?" Nova asked rather shakily.

"This is the only way that makes sense," Osborn said through the radio. "The vortrix should be able to sense the heat from the thermite then they'll find the sugar we took from the kitchen. Which part are you not sure of?"

"The part where we start a feeding frenzy in the middle of the station we're trapped in!"

Nova took a flare from her belt and two thermos. She unscrewed the first thermos and turned it over, a stream of sugar pouring from it. Once it was empty, she reattached it to her belt. She then did the same with the second thermos, pouring the find white powder all over the floor, careful not to get any on her boots.

"You might want to hurry up," Chen said through the radio. "According to the life signs scanner, the vortrix are kinda mulling about since I sealed off all the halls to the hangar. If you can lure them back within the perimeter, I can close the doors."

Terra Nova sighed at this. She had to finish the job sooner or later. Finally, Nova took out the flare.

"Here it goes," she said. She reached to her belt and pulled out the final ingredient. She took out a ceramic container and took off the lid and revealing the red powder inside. She placed the container on the ground and prepared the flare. She pulled the cap at the top, the bright red flame immediately lighting up the room. She had to look away to avoid getting blinded. She carefully dipped the flame of the flare into the powder. Instantly, the red powder turned into a blinding fountain of sparks.

"You sure the thermite won't melt through the station?" Nova asked.

"It'll run out before that happens," Osborn reassured. "And the crucible should slow it down."

With the thermite active, Nova started walking away, the blinding light of the thermite glowing behind her. If she wanted to avoid running into a vortrix, she had to get out of there now.

"Any activity?" Nova asked over the radio.

"Oh yeah," Chen replied. "It looks like since they can't find a way to the hangar, they're headed for the thermite instead."

Almost on cue, a four-legged crab-like spider came rounding the corner. Nova practically fell over, watching as it scampered past her and toward the thermite. Nova stared at the creature, freezing in shock.

"Terra," Chen said through the radio. "The doors are open. Get out of there before they finish the sugar."

Terra nodded vigorously, shakily picking herself up. She was about to run when she ran face first into something. She had to stop herself from screaming.

"It's alright! It's alright! It's just me."

Nova gave a sigh. It was just Osborn.

"Please don't do that again," Nova moaned. "I hate these things."

"Well, we can move on now," Osborn said. "I've finished setting up the second bait. C'mon."

Nova's legs were still shaking but she forced them to get moving, she and Osborn sneaking through the halls. Everyone was busy setting everything up for the arrival of the pirates. They only had a few minutes to get everything ready.

Finally, they had reached it. Nova looked up as they passed through the final door.

"Alright, Steven," Kara said through the radio. "Close the door."

Nova gave a final shiver. She was finally away from those vortrix things.

Suddenly, a metallic clash echoed from right in front of them. They looked up, eyes widening when they spotted a large humanoid creature standing before them, its neck long and its scythe-like arms mounted on absurdly high shoulders. It was a vortrix, and it was more interested in them than the sugar they had set up. The two women gave a startled scream as it slashed at them with its scythe-like limb, the two of them falling over to avoid its attack. It reared its head back before lunging forward, its jaws wide. Nova was about to grab her gun when the doors came to life, slamming closed on the creature and splitting it in half, the two blades that used to be its arms and what looked like its head falling to the floor.

Nova blinked several times. It had all happened so fast she barely had time to process it. A vortrix had shown up, prepared to attack them, then got split in half when Chen closed the door.

Nova looked at Osborn. The Doctor didn't have a fear of the vortrix like she did, but Kara should at least be a little shocked at the brief brush with death. Instead, the girl had a smile on her face. She was panting and covered in sweat from the shock. But she was smiling. It was all just another space adventure for her.

"I'm beginning to think Steven had a point," Nova remarked. "There is something very wrong with you."

Osborn just giggled.

"C'mon," she said. "I need to get Steven's second plan in motion."

Nova froze when she heard this. She knew what this meant. She would have to get close to the vortrix again.

"You know, you don't have to come if they scare you that much," Kara remarked.

Nova had to admit that would be nice. Chen had a fear of spiders. It seemed like she had just developed a fear of these things. She wanted to say 'yes' but she couldn't.

"No, I can't let anything happen to you," Nova answered.

"We're just trapping the five extra vortrix inside a container. Steven says there are five that are separate from the rest of the group and he thinks we should keep these around."

"Yeah…in the hangar," Nova muttered. She reached down and felt the extra flare. "Alright, let's do this."

-.-

Hailey was preparing to continue working when her 'partner' finally arrived.

"About time you finally learn to trust me," Athena said, walking into the bridge with a smirk.

"I don't trust you," Hailey corrected. "But we need you to fix the ship." Even though Athena assured them the SGC trusted her, she didn't. This wasn't a Tok'ra. This was a Goa'uld. These were the people who subjugated the galaxy.

"Ah, so you're afraid that I am secretly plotting something?" Athena mocked. "Secretly devising a plan to subjugate you all?"

"If you want me to trust you, you should start by dropping the bad jokes," Hailey snapped. Athena smirked at this, taking a seat by Hailey's side. By this point, Jennifer was thinking that she should play nice with Athena if for no other reason than because it was obvious the Goa'uld was taking pleasure at her disdain.

"And can I trust that you have the defense of this station covered as well?" Athena asked.

"Just…" Hailey's voice trailed off. She couldn't let her disdain to feed Athena's ego. Besides, they were going to work together so she was going to have to learn to work with her. "Just focus on fixing the ship."

She did stand by what she said to Nova. If she had any reason to doubt Athena, she was going to shoot the Goa'uld without a second doubt.

-.-

Soren observed the life signs scanner now mounted on his wrist right atop his gauntlet. If he had something like this as a mass murderer, he would've had an easier time. Civilians and guardsmen, both were his targets back then. The Valken Royal Guards were the elite forces and were much harder to kill but each one dead meant more fear. His body count would've been much higher if he had something like this. He could only be glad he didn't.

He traced his hand across all his equipment. He had a shotgun, two pistols, two hand axes, and his bayonet can turn his shotgun into a large axe. He also had a set of plasma grenades, stun grenades for if he needed to make an entrance.

He had also taken the time to wander around to familiarize himself with the housing section. One of the first things he would establish as a killer was his home base, a location he could easily fall back to and easily defend. From there he would launch coordinated strikes; go out, kill someone, then return.

There was no home base for him this time, no rest period in the slums and crags to hide from the people hunting him. He was going to be in a nonstop fight.

"Soren," Chen's voice said through the radio. "You ready? Our guests have arrived."

"Understood," Soren grunted, cocking his shotgun. He wasn't trained to be a soldier. He was trained to be a killer. He would stalk his target and take them out when they weren't expecting it. Or he would lead any chasing him into an isolated area and kill them one by one. It was all half the elders wanted. It was all he ever did for as long as he could remember. And now, he will put his skills to good use.

"Allfather," Soren muttered. "I know I'm not the most dutiful son. Even now I speak to you with wavering faith. But I ask you now for this kindness. I beg for mercy, for you to see me through to victory.

-.-

Arcturus planted her sword into the ground in front of her, resting both her hands on its pommel.

"Mighty Aurox," she said under her breath. "Grant me the strength to protect my compatriots. May my feet be swift and my aim be true so that my weapon will deliver justice unto my enemies."

She opened her eyes and looked ahead, watching as a pair of shuttles touched down at the end of the hangar. It was time.

Space pirates weren't just a single race. That was because they didn't come from a single civilization. All across NGC 300 came the call to carve out one's one life unhindered by rules and regulations from higher men. Escape from the lawful. Escape from the greedy. Humans, narkoss, sireen, icthyan, very few races were untouched by the call to the life of a pirate. The desperate, the greedy, the scared, the sadistic, they all answered the call.

They prepped their weapons: firearms, plasma casters, phase repeaters. There was no uniform they wore, instead preferring to wear whatever they deemed useful. For some it was just plain clothes. Others wore body armor: gray vests, mechanical suits of armor, hardened chest pieces.

Arcturus straightened her back and kept her eyes straight head, her hands resting atop her sword. The boxy shuttles had touched down and over two dozen pirates were climbing off. She wasn't exactly hiding so it didn't take long for them to realize her just standing there in front of the maze of crates.

Well, the pirates weren't shooting so she had that on her side. She let them approach, not wavering. As they approached, she finally spoke.

"Greetings," she said. "Pirates of the Brotherhood of the Damned. I must request you turn around and leave."

She kept her eyes on the pirates, watching them spread out, several of them taking cover behind boxes to either side of her. They were getting ready, trying to flank her. The man who approached her was a narkoss, a humanoid insectoid race, aqua blue carapace, glossy compound eyes, and a baggy leather jacket.

It figured that a narkoss would be the one to confront her. Narkoss were born in egg patches of roughly fifty at a time. Only about half of those eggs would hatch. And of those that hatch, only a quarter would reach adolescence. Thanks to this, narkoss tend to always be willing to sacrifice for the good of the group. A hundred fifty different cultures from their home planet and most of them all encourage the individual to think about the good of the whole.

"And…who are you to ask this?" the bug-man asked.

"I am Sir Samanya Arcturus, High Warden of the Knights of Aurox."

That name definitely got a reaction. Several of the pirates were shifting uncomfortably. The Order of Aurox had a reputation when it came to space pirates. Even the narkoss seemed to shrink back in fear. But he cleared his throat and recomposed himself.

"Knight of Aurox, eh?" the narkoss scoffed. "I thought you all died."

Samanya tightened her fist around her weapon. That was still a soft spot for her. But she couldn't lose her temper here. She was honor-bound as a knight to not be merciless. She was going to give the pirates a single chance to leave.

"This station is under the protection of the Order," she said. "I give you the opportunity to leave. Refuse and you shall be forcefully expelled."

The narkoss scoffed at this comment. All the pirates in earshot laughed at this threat.

"And where your this army that will expel us?" he sneered. Samanya just smiled as she gave her response.

"I am my army."

-.-

This was going to be a different experience for Soren. This wasn't going to be guerilla combat. At least not the way he was used to. In the forest, he could rain fire from behind a tree line, then run and relocate when the enemy figures out where the attack is coming from.

It was going to be different. He was indoors. It was going to be easy to see where the attack was coming from. It was also going to be easy to get a clear line of sight on him since these hallways dictated his movements.

And it wouldn't be just shooting.

In a regular firefight, you rarely see who you are shooting at. You spray in the general direction where you think the weapons fire is coming from. But at this close range, you could rush up to the enemy in the time it takes them to realize you're there.

Either way, this was going to be messy.

He stood there in the center of the kitchen, watching the life signs scanner on his wrist. There were blips moving in the next room. Lots of them.

Soren's shotgun was cocked and ready. The walls may be good concealment, but there was a difference between concealment and cover. With the life signs scanner up, he aimed his shotgun at the wall.

Boom.

The shotgun blast tore through the wall and into the hallway, two blips instantly disappearing from the scanner. Soren continued squeezing the trigger, his semi-automatic shotgun ripping through the barrier and mowing down everyone on the other side. The wall soon vanished behind a cloud of dust, pebbles of concrete spraying him in the face.

After a few moments, Soren turned and bolted from the room as a storm of energy blasts shredded the concrete wall, a cloud of smoke forming behind him, the perfect cover to escape.

"Doctor Chen," Soren said through the radio, dashing into the next room. "Close the doors behind me."

"Got it," Chen replied through the radio. There was a hiss as the doors behind Soren lowered, closing off the section. "Soren, some pirates are tracking to cut through the door in section B."

"Like Hel they are," Soren muttered, dashing off for the hall. Soren had familiarized himself with these halls. He knew which routes to take. It was like when he was on the run from the Valken government, he had to know every street and alley if he ever wanted to make a quick escape.

"Pirates are coming through the hallway on the left," Chen reported. "I'm going to close the door."

"Wait," Soren barked as he rushed into the center of the hall, turning left to face the doorway. He had to stop the pirates from cutting through the door in Section B but he wanted to give these ones a present before he did.

He held up his left arm, watching five blips gather on the side of the door frame. So they weren't incompetent. They were stacking up on the door before bursting in, overwhelming any opposition. Soren was going to foil that plan.

The pirates then burst through the doorway.

"Now!" Soren barked through the radio. On command, Chen closed the door. Only two pirates managed to make it through the doorway before the door closed behind them. With the group split in half, two shotgun blasts tore through the pirates before they could react.

"Alright, you had your fun," Chen said. "Now get to that door before they get out."

Soren didn't even answer. He just took off down the hall.

Weapons and numbers always helped in a firefight, but nothing could beat tactics. And they had the upperhand in this. This was why Soren was so confident. They had access to the control room to manipulate the environment. They had a life sign detectors to keep track of enemy movement. And he knew how to put all of it to good use. He didn't intend on beating them in a straight firefight. He couldn't. And he didn't need to. If he could take out one person every time and make it out unharmed, he would win.

The Pirates had numbers. The Millennium had him.

-.-

Arcturus could hear the gunfire from where she was. As could the pirates. They looked in the direction of the weapons fire in shock. It looked like the peaceful solution was out the window.

Arcturus lunged forward, seizing the man by the shoulder before plunging her sword right through his chest. The hangar erupted into chaos, bolts of flying at her as all the pirates opened fire. She took cover behind the pirate she had just impaled, energy bolts ripping apart his body, the combination of his corpse and body armor stopping the fire. Whatever did penetrate could not get through her personal shield and armor.

With her sword through her shield, she started its transformation. At least partway. The blade of the sword split open, revealing the barrel within. The trigger at the grip lowered.

Samanya couldn't see her opponents but she knew their general direction. Making sure she was behind her shield, she returned fire. She could feel the sword jerking backwards with each shot as she kept the trigger pressed down. She could hear the bangs of the metal crates the pirates took cover behind being shredded with each shot.

But she couldn't stay there. With the pirates taking cover again, she shoved the corpse on her sword off and ran through the array of crates and mining equipment behind her. She dove over the last box, taking cover at the center.

"Martin," she said through the radio. "Activate the defenses."

She could already hear the pirates rushing to catch up with her. But they were in for a surprise.

She heard the tacs in the first layers immediately begin opening fire, panicked pirates running to take cover.

With a flick of her weapon, her sword fully transformed into its rifle configuration.

"Aurox, guide me," she said under her breath. Finally she stepped out.

-.-

For Charles Martin, his world was nothing but a tiny circle with a crosshair. The hangar before him was lit up, a storm of energy bolts flying back and forth. Samanya was down there, holding off the pirates. At least thirty of them were in that hangar. Thirty to two.

Lucky for him, there was a plan already in place and it was perfect for that number.

Through his scope, he could see Arcturus fighting at the front. She had taken more than a few shots from the sheer number of pirates, but her shield was holding.

Charles had to feel a tinge of pride for coming up with this strategy. A firefight wasn't just about shooting at your enemy. It was about repositioning yourself, trying to find a way to get around them or get to a better vantage point. But the pirates couldn't do this. Tacs blocked every path available. They could try the catwalks lining the sides of the hangar but there was no cover, easy pickings for Martin. That meant they had no choice but to stay behind cover, letting Martin pick them off one by one.

Martin could see a group of three pirates sneaking around the crates, trying to flank the knight. They had no idea what was coming to them. The moment they stepped around the corner, crimson bolts of energy rained on them. The pirates panicked and dove for cover, unsure where the shots are coming from. It was as if they were coming out of the crates. In a way, they were. The tacs were positioned so anyone who didn't know what they were looking for wouldn't see them. These metal orbs the size of applies were hidden perfectly with the equipment in the hangar.

Martin kept his scope on the three.

Perfect.

One of them was peeking his head out, trying to figure out where the tac was without getting shot by the tac. But he didn't know about Martin.

Lieutenant Martin pulled the trigger. The shot streaked from his K14 sniper rifle and into one of the pirates.

The two surviving pirates fell to their stomachs, trying to further conceal themselves. It was a slow process, but it was working.

Martin zoomed out to take a look at the battlefield. For a moment, he was afraid that Arcturus had gotten cornered. But then he saw the energy bolts pass through her, followed by the pirates' startled faces.

He gave a sigh of relief. It was one of her holograms she sent out as a decoy.

For others it might seem strange to have such a tranquil position. For Martin, this was all part of being a sniper. He adjusted his scope as he trained his crosshairs on the next target.

He drew in a breath, held it.

He fired.

-.-

Nova always felt bad when it was her friends fighting and not her. In fact, she didn't have much to do at all now. She was left patrolling empty hallways, the sound of vicious gunfire in the distance.

After completing another patrol, she made her way back to the control room. She pressed the button on the side of the frame and the doors opened.

Inside, Chen was at the computers, watching all the monitors and keeping track of all the battles.

"The end of the hall," he said through the radio to Soren. "There's a squad passing by on the other side of the wall."

"Got it," Soren grunted in response.

Nova walked up behind Chen, looking at the array of monitors. The giant one at the centered showed a map of the housing sections, blips showing the life signs of Soren and the pirates. She could see the other battles taking place over the other security cameras.

"How is it?" Nova asked, looking at all the chaos on the monitors.

"Well, we're holding them off for now," Chen replied with a sigh. "Don't know how long that'll last. If the guys don't ask for fire support in the shipping hangar, they'll be good there."

"And the vortrix?"

"Well, there aren't any breaches so far," Chen said with a shrug, gesturing toward some other monitors. Nova looked at the screens. She watched as pirates fled in terror from the horde of jibbering monsters. There were just too many monsters for them to handle, creatures seeming to show up at every corner and picking off a fleeing pirate.

Nova gave a sigh of relief. At least there was some good news.

"You know if we get out of this-" Chen started to say.

"When we get out of this," Nova corrected. "What about when we get out of this?"

Chen sighed at Nova's correction.

"If and when we get out of this," Chen said. "We still need to figure out what to do about the virus."

Nova looked to the side, heaving a heavy sigh. She had a plan on what to do but she wasn't sure if it was a good one. And she wasn't sure if she should tell Chen about it either.

"I spoke with Arcturus," she said. "She doesn't think we should tell anyone because of the ramifications."

"The obvious choice," Chen said absentmindedly, keeping his eye on the screens. Nova gritted her teeth in frustration. Obvious he says. Normally she would ask her team what they think and she would immediately have feedback. She would know to keep silent because of the ramifications. Sure, she intended to keep this a secret but this was because she was afraid of how it would hurt her teammates' opinion on the Tok'ra, not the political ramifications from the leadership.

That's when it occurred to her.

"Hailey's not going to notice the code, is she?"

"Unlikely. She has the technical knowledge but limited experience. I don't think she'll make the connection."

"She was personally trained by Carter," Terra pointed out.

"Their specialty is the physics behind technology, not how it's programmed. Jenny has some software knowledge but not much, and even less experience putting it to use."

Nova heaved a sigh of relief. So she had some limited form of damage control. Still, there were other things she had to consider. Who to tell? What to do with Athena? And how she felt about the SGC letting a Goa'uld on board the ship?

"Terra," Chen spoke up. Nova looked up in surprise, ripped out of her own thoughts. "What're you planning."

Nova bit her lip, not sure what to say. Now she was beginning to wonder if she should tell her plans to Steven.

"I'll deal with it," she said dismissively. She could feel Chen's disapproving look bore through her skull.

"You know it's not like you to keep secrets," he said.

"I don't want to get you guys involved," she replied. She looked back over at Chen, who kept his disapproving stare. Finally, he sighed.

"If you're sure," he said, turning back around to face the screens.

"Steven…"

Chen sighed in annoyance at his attention being drawn away from his work again.

"What is it this time?"

"Hear me out on this."

"Already doing that but, ok."

"The Tok'ra virus is written in a Goa'uld programming language, right? Is it possible Athena could know how to solve it if she knows what she's looking for?"

Chen paused for a moment to think about Nova's suggestion.

"I won't say it's outside the realm of possibility," he said slowly. He paused again, further considering it. "It might just work depending on what she knows. It's possible she's even run into the virus in the past. It was meant to take down Goa'uld motherships. But that also means you'll have to run back to the ship. Hailey might hear it if you use the radio."

Nova nodded in agreement. At least she didn't have to be completely alone in this.

"Hold the fort," she said, turning around and running out of the room.

-.-

It was a decent run back to the ship. Lucky for her, a wall had collapsed and its debris made the perfect ramp into the hangar. She practically slid down the side of the now soaking wet debris, hitting the ground running and making a break for the ramp into the ship.

Her legs were practically jello from exhaustion as she ran up the ramp into the cargo hold. Even inside, she had to make her way to the bridge.

"Terra!" she heard Corin call. She glanced behind her, spotting Corin down another hallways, giving her a look of utter confusion. But she couldn't stop to explain. She had to get to the bridge and explain everything to Athena.

She practically tripped onto the bridge. Athena and Hailey looked at her in confusion. Nova took a moment to catch her breath. It certainly would've been easier to tell both of them, but then what was the point in keeping all this a secret if everyone knew?

"I need….to talk to Athena," Nova panted. She was going to have to catch her breath fast if she wanted to explain everything to the Goa'uld.

"I don't need to shoot her, do I?" Hailey asked suspiciously.

"What?" Nova stuttered. "No. I just need to speak with her in private real quick."

Athena exchanged glances with Hailey before finally getting up and walking out into the hall.

Nova straightened her back and took in a huge gulp of air. She could only pray that Athena knew something about Tok'ra viruses.

"Nova," Hailey spoke up. "You know it's not like you to keep secrets."

"I know," Nova sighed. "You're going to have to trust me on this."

Nova stared at Hailey. She could see the confusion from her friend's eyes. Nova gave an exasperated sigh. All this trouble, everything that happened today, every injury, every problem, it was all caused by the Tok'ra. She always revered the Tok'ra. They were like space ninjas. Or at the very least, space guerilla fighters and rebels. Always shady in their dealings but always good of heart. And now she had to question everything she knew.

She had hoped to keep this info a secret from everyone. While only Steven and Arcturus knew the details, she'd made everyone suspicious that there was something going on.

Nova wanted to say something but didn't know what. In the end, she could only sigh and quickly leave the room to inform Athena of what was going on.

Even in the hall, Nova glanced back to make sure Hailey was not eavesdropping.

"Major Nova," Athena said impatiently. "I hope this is important. We both know you will blame me if these repairs fail."

Nova looked at Athena, actually feeling bad for a moment. It was true. If they failed at rescuing the crew or if they messed up they would instantly blame Athena.

She could think about this later.

"Athena," she said. "How much do you know about Tok'ra viruses?"

Athena gave her a confused look.

"I've dealt with them in the past," the Goa'uld answered. "The Tok'ra would often use these viruses to sabotage our ships."

"So you've worked with them in the past?"

"Of course."

Nova glanced back at the bridge. She didn't want to outright tell Athena it was a Tok'ra virus. But she wasn't sure how else to word it.

"Steven thinks that the structure of this virus is identical to a Tok'ra virus," Nova said.

 _'Nice lie'_ , Nova thought to herself sarcastically. She would be stunned if Athena believed her.

Nova could tell Athena was not fully convinced by her excuse. Still, she didn't think Athena would conclude that it was a Tok'ra virus.

"I believe I can fix the ship then," she said. "However, I will need to create the decryption software to do this."

"Alright, do it," Nova said without a second thought. The two of them went back to the bridge.

"Hailey," Nova said as she walked into the room. "Athena might be able to fix the virus." Nova looked at her friend but she was silent, busy staring at a screen on the wall. "Hailey?"

Nova looked up at the screen, understanding what had Hailey transfixed. The screen showed a view of the atmospheric barrier that kept the air in. It was how they entered in the first place. And they could see two shuttles in the distance, approaching the shimmering barrier.

"Looks like they're calling our bluff," Jennifer Hailey said.

"Work fast," Nova told Athena as she swiftly turned to leave the room. It wasn't a good plan. It was just her only option. She was still tired and she was already back to running. Her first stop was the cargo hold. Yes it was her only way out. But there were a few things she wanted to grab.

The first thing she went for was the drop shield. She grabbed the tetrahedron device and jammed it into her vest pocket.

Next, she needed a big gun. She flipped open the crates, searching for a machine gun. And she got more than she imagined. Her eyes widened as she reached into the crate and pulled out an M61 minigun. She tucked the gun under her arm as she removed two crates of bullets.

With all her equipment, Nova ran down the ramp and into the hangar. She glanced at the atmospheric barrier. It wouldn't be long before the shuttles arrive.

She ran up to the power loader she had messed with earlier. She gently set the minigun into the claws on its forearm, closing it around the weapon. She set one of the ammo crates in another clamp, closing it tight around the box, before taking out the belt of bullets and feeding it into the minigun.

She glanced back at the barrier. The shuttles had entered the hangar, a cloud of dusk kicked up by its engines. She was running out of time.

Finally, she took the drop shield out of her vest pocket. It supposedly needed a surface to grab onto to activate. She wondered if the chassis of the power loader would work. She attached the shield to the other arm, watching as the clamps extended from its base and latched onto the surface. There was a click as a shimmering field of energy formed around her and the loader.

It was just in time too. She jumped in shock when she heard an impact behind her. She whipped around to see a puff of smoke rise from a portion of the shield. If she had activated the shield even a second later, she'd be dead.

She didn't have time to think about it. She got into the power loader.

Like before, she felt the suit power up. The trigger to the minigun was in arms reach. She couldn't really aim but she didn't really need to. She carefully maneuvered the loader across the hangar. She could see pirates pouring out of the shuttle, taking cover and preparing to fire.

"Alright!" she yelled. "Let's do this!"

She aimed at the pirates, her hand tight around the grip of the minigun. Finally, she pressed the button. She fired.

The minigun roared to life almost instantly, the barrel spinning up, the muzzle flash turning into seizure-inducing nonstop flashes. The pirates dove for cover as a storm of bullets tore through the hangar. The barrels turned red from the heat. A stream of bullets, a stream of destruction, tore through everything in its path, a trail of destruction carved across the hangar.

Pirates dove for cover as the bullets shredded through everything in its path. Nova could feel the entire loader shaking from the recoil. Some of the pirates took some blind shots at her, what few shots hitting their mark being blocked by the shield.

By this point, Nova didn't even think she was hitting anything. She didn't care. She was simply there to buy time. She walked through the hangar, spraying wildly at the pirates, trails of thick dust kicked up from the bullet impacts. Pebbles of concrete sprayed at her as she shredded the floor with her minigun. The gun itself was beginning to smoke from the heat.

She glanced at the hangar. Another shuttle was inbound. She had no idea how long she could last in the loader. It was time to enact Chen's plan.

She aimed her minigun. But not at the pirates. She aimed it at the crate across the hangar. And she fired. A stream of bullets tore through the air, ripping through the door of the cargo container. It was just a quick burst. But it was enough to tear through the lock.

Immediately the doors burst open, five vortrix bursting out, three crab-like creatures and two large bulbous ones.

The pirates looked at the monsters in shock, even the ones getting off the shuttle giving pause. This was the moment Nova needed. She aimed her minigun and fired on the pirates, the bullets tearing through her targets. The pirates were in a panic, now having to face down five space monster and Nova in a mech with a minigun.

-.-

By this point, the shipping hangar didn't even look like a hangar any more. So many energy bolts had flown in every direction that even the metal crates they were using for cover now looked like melted mounds of metal. Half their tacs were gone, located and destroyed by the pirates.

As far as Martin could tell, though, their plan was working. They had mowed down at least half the pirates. But now fatigue was setting in. The pirates had wised up and were sticking closer to cover. They clearly knew there was a sniper and the general direction so they were hiding from him the best they could.

Charles Martin panned his scope across the battlefield, trying to find anything that he could shoot. Well, anything he could guarantee a hit. The pirates would pop their heads out for just a brief second then duck right before he could aim at them.

Charles panned his scope down to Arcturus. One of the pirates had managed to sneak up on her. But he was completely outclassed. He tried to punch Arcturus, but she effortlessly caught his fist in her hand, crushing it with a single squeeze before driving the partially transformed sword into her target.

"Sam, you alright?" he asked through the radio.

"My shields are low," she answered, tossing aside the body before taking cover. "I need a moment to recharge."

Martin gave a sigh of relief and looked up.

Wait a second.

Martin couldn't believe his eyes. The pirates were running.

"Uh…Sam," he said through the radio. "They're running."

"What are you talking about?" Arcturus asked.

"They're running away!"

Martin aligned his crosshairs on their backs but froze. They were enemy combatants but he couldn't bring himself to shoot them in the back.

"Charles," Arcturus spoke up. "We need to get out of here! I think they're calling for fire support."

Charles was afraid of this. One of the easiest ways to deal with a sniper is to bomb the general area where it is. They must've finally picked up on his presence. Since the pirates couldn't just barge in, they were going to bomb the area to get in.

Martin looked down, spotting Arcturus running toward the door.

"Right, I'll meet you at the rendezvous point," he said. He slowly rose to his feet, clutching his side in pain. He tucked his rifle under his arm as he hobbled out of the room.

-.-

From between two file cabinets, Soren could see the pirates running in. Their numbers had been sliced into pieces and their organization was now out the window. They charged in, letting him blast them as they came running.

Seeing the two intruders fall, Soren stood up from his cover. He was about to relocate when an almost feral yell caught his attention. He looked over to see one of the pirates rushing at him, blade in hand.

With a single swift motion, Soren rammed the stock into the pirate's face before bringing the axe head down on its shoulder. The pirate fell limp, but Soren moved forward and wrapped his arm around his enemy's head before giving a single powerful upward yank. He could hear the sickening crack as the neck bones were forcibly separated from the yank.

"Soren," Chen's voice came through the radio. "Soren, you might want to get out of there. It looks like the pirates just dropped off reinforcements."

Soren flipped up his life signs scanner, aiming it at the walls. Immediately, the screen filled with blips. And they were too tightly clumped for him to work with.

"Doctor Chen," Soren grunted, closing the screen. "Secure my exit. I'll meet you in the control room." The doors around the room all closed with the exception of one. Immediately, Soren took off through the door.

-.-

Hailey knew she should be working. She knew her mind should be at work decrypting the ship's code. But it wasn't. Nova may have trusted Athena but she did not. She was watching the Goa'uld out of the corner of her eye. Athena was busy typing away. She couldn't see the code but it was clear she was programming something.

Hailey's hand drifted to her pistol as she slowly rose to her feet. Athena was so focused on whatever she was doing, she didn't even notice Hailey coming up from behind her.

Hailey was right. Athena had typed up a massive new program. Hailey unholstered her weapon and pointed it at Athena's head.

"What're you doing?"

Athena froze at Hailey's voice, raising her hands above her head. The Goa'uld rose from her chair, turning to face Hailey. Hailey could see the screen clearly now. Athena wasn't just programming. She was in the middle of compiling the program, getting it ready to run.

Hailey glanced back at Athena, still waiting for an answer.

"Is there anything I can say that would change your mind?" Athena asked impatiently. Hailey growled. She knew Athena had a point. Even if the Goa'uld was helping them, she wouldn't trust her anyways.

"Finish," Hailey said, gesturing at the computer but keeping her gun trained. She watched as Athena set up the command line. Hailey gave an annoyed sigh. Athena hadn't even finished typing but Hailey was already holstering her pistol. Athena held her finger over the enter key, glancing back at Hailey.

"Do it," Jennifer Hailey commanded.

-.-

Reaching the rendezvous point was an easy jog for Arcturus. And Martin was even closer than she was. So, she was confused to why he wasn't there. She looked around for him, unsure what to do if he does not show up.

Finally, she spotted him. He was limping out from behind a corner, his arms clutching his wound.

"Martin," she called out, rushing over to him. Letting him lean on her for support, she looked at his wound.

"It seems you reopened your injury," she commented, helping him trudge along.

"Really?" Martin remarked, trying to hobble with her, gritting his teeth in pain. "And here I thought it was just gas."

"If you insist on using humor, could you at least attempt to be funny?" Samanya asked. She continued helping him hobble through the halls. But she suddenly paused as she neared the corner. She could see shadows of several people approaching. And she knew Martin could see it too.

They exchanged glances. Pirates to their back and pirates to their front. They were trapped.

Arcturus tightened her grip on her sword. She was spent. Her shield was at its limit. Her muscles ached. And her weapon would need recharging soon.

Suddenly, she felt Martin's fingers tighten around hers, gripping the sword along with her. She looked at him and he gave a nod back.

The shadows had finally rounded the corner, pirates flooding down the hall. Power surged through Arcturus's sword, the blade splitting ever so slightly so the barrel of the gun was visible. She and Martin tightened their grips, running at the pirates with the blade in hand, giving a final battle cry.

Arcturus was so tense that it seemed like the world was fading to white. That's when she realized, it was. It may have felt like minutes to her but in the span of a single second, everything around them washed to white in a single blinding flash of light. Then it all came back, the light fading away, a new room forming around them, and a panicked Chen giving a single terrified scream as he dove for the ground. Arcturus had to stop her charge to avoid impaling him with the sword.

"That's the last time I'm saving your bony ass!" Chen shouted from the floor, picking himself up.

She looked around. She wasn't on the space station anymore. She was on the Typhon. And she was surrounded by people.

There was a clack as an older man stepped forward, his lips and chin matted with stiff white hair.

"Sir Arcturus? Lieutenant Martin?" he asked sternly. "I am Colonel Connor," the old man said. "Welcome aboard the Typhon."

Arcturus looked around in shock. The ship was no longer dark and abandoned. It was brightly lit, its crew active and about. She looked to the side, spotting Nova, Hailey, and Corin standing at the side.

They rushed over as Arcturus handed Martin over to them.

"Get this man to the infirmary," Connor ordered. Immediately, two crewmen rushed over to help him limp.

"Don't worry about me," Martin said to the rest of his team as he rested on the shoulders of the two crewmen. "Kick their asses for me!"

Without another word, he slowly limped off the bridge, leaving his friends to watch.

Arcturus looked at the others. Their expressions were relieved. There wasn't a single grim look on their faces.

"Casualties?" she asked Nova.

"None," Nova said with a wide smile. Samanya looked at her in shock. She almost couldn't believe they had just survived all that without a single casualty.

"Are you sure of this?" she asked excitedly.

"Soren's getting checked out in the infirmary," Corin explained. "We made it."

Arcturus felt a smile spread across her face. Every member of her newfound family had survived. Even grumbling Chen was smiling at the information.

"Hate to cut the reunion short," Connor said, interrupting their train of thought. "But it's time we get out of here." He turned back toward the front, his face serious. "Lieutenant, take us out."

-.-

In the hangar, the Typhon powered up, its engines roaring to life. The vortrix in the hangar all clung onto the ship, bathing in the energy it released. All the pirates in the hangar had been consumed and now they wanted more food. But there was no way into the starship. They were flies on a windshield as it rose up off the ground, the hangar kicking up the dust that had been created from the firefight. It flew backwards through the atmospheric barrier and into the void of space. As the black nothingness surrounded the ship, the battle in the far distance came into view.

-.-

"They're still fighting?" Hailey muttered, looking at the screens. Nova, Hailey, Corin, Chen, they all were staring at the screen that showed the battle taking place. The battle between the Damacans and the pirates continued to rage. Streaks and plumes of smoke now filled the empty void, debris floating freely from the damaged and destroyed ships. A storm of weapons fire flew back and forth. Energy bolts, missiles, artillery shells, thy filled the void with destruction.

"Ship to ship battles tend to take a while," Corin remarked, transfixed on the screen.

Everyone was staring at the battle taking place. All the ships involved were engulfed in a thin cloud of smoke that expanded in every direction. There were so many explosions going off it looked like the sparks from a flare.

"Majors," Connor said, catching all their attention. Hailey and Nova looked at him. Nova may have been team leader, but they were still equal rank. "How do you want to proceed?"

Nova and Hailey exchanged glances, realizing what he was asking. Here they were observing the fight. They could leave. Or they could intervene. Nova looked at Hailey and Chen. It was a relief for her to finally be able to ask for their opinions.

"Look, I know we need to try to keep our noses out of other people's business," Nova said. "But I don't think there's much discussion here. These are space pirates."

"It would be nice to make another friend," Hailey said. Nova and Hailey both looked at Chen for the final vote. The man who usually disagreed grumbled at the position they were in.

"Fine go for it," he finally sighed.

Nova turned and faced Connor.

"Fight it is," he said. He had activated internal communications and was waiting for the final command.

"All hands report for battle stations. Make final preparations, prepare to fire."

Nova, Hailey, Chen, and Corin all stood at the side. Two more guards walked up beside Athena to keep a closer eye on her. Hailey went over to help show which ships to target.

The crew worked like a well-oiled machine. Connor stood in the middle as its head, his second in command barking and relaying orders, the crew complying upon command.

"Status report on the ship!" Connor barked.

"Railguns off line," one of the helmsmen reported. "Asgard beam weapon, offline. Shields offline. VLS missile tubes offline."

"You mean we're sitting ducks?" Nova asked. Back on the 304's, the shields offline was enough to cause for panic. And now, half their weapons were offline with it.

"Worry not, Major," Connor said confidently, folding his arms behind his back. "This is an advancement of the 304 for a reason."

"Sir, one of the ships is targeting us," a helmsman reported.

"Take us under!" Connor ordered.

-.-

No one inside could see it but the moment that ordered was carried out, the ship vanished, flickering out of existence like it was never there. The missiles targeting it flew through the empty space, hitting nothing and continuing on.

The Damacan trimmens rained blazing hell upon the pirate ships, vaguely T-shaped vessels that returned fire with mass drivers, energy weapons, and missiles.

The void of space had become a thunder storm, clouds of smoke and debris engulfing both fleets, energy bolts and beams cut through the blackness like lightning in the night sky, spherical explosions surging up from its impacts. A barrage of smaller energy bolts streaked back and forth from the ships' point defense weapons, exploding on impact, creating a wall of flames against the shields of the vessels. Random explosions dotted the expanse as point defense weapons shot down the missiles and larger bolts of energy flying through space.

-.-

In the torpedo room, Arcturus watched the crew work. The hydraulic pumps extended a torpedo from its storage in the wall. They then opened the torpedo and loaded in the appropriate warhead before closing it. The torpedo tube opened and the pump slid the torpedo into its tube. All the machines were hard at work, doing the same, torpedo tubes opening to accept their weapons.

"Manned and ready!" one of the torpedo crew said through the internal coms.

-.-

"Manned and ready!" a technician on the bridge reported.

"Torpedo room reports manned and ready, sir," the Second reported.

"Are we locked on?" Connor asked.

"Are we locked on?" the Second asked, walking up to another one of the technicians.

"Aye, sir."

"We're locked on, Colonel."

"Number one, stand by," Connor said. "Fire."

"Torpedo one has left the tube."

-.-

From the nothingness of space the Typhon was occupying came a long black tube, propelled by the cold gasses released behind it, turned and directed by the gyroscope in it. It had its sights on one of the pirate ships, streaking through space to meets it target. It vanished into the storm of chaos and weapons fire. A moment later, a blinding flash of light erupted from one of the pirate ships, a nuclear explosion engulfing its hull, its shimmering yellow shield struggling to hold back the blast.

As the flames died, a crippled ship came chugging out of the smoke.

-.-

"Direct hit one of the ships. It's venting atmosphere and losing power."

"Target the next ship. Close in and lock on."

"Ready tubes three and four and lock on."

"Yes, sir!"

Nova watched the monitors, which showed everything that was happening. She watched the blips that represented the ships, the triangles that represented the weapons fire. There were images that showed the chaos, the almost seizure-inducing flashes from the constant explosions.

"Sir, it appears one of the Damacan ships has lost its shield and is taking hull damage."

"Confirmed. Pirate ships have begun focusing on damaged Damacan vessel."

"We don't have time to lollygag then," Connor said. "Decloak us. Bring the thud cannons online."

The sound of that caught Nova's attention.

"Thudcannons?" she whispered to one of the guards.

"Courtesy of Athena," the guard explained. "She provided the blueprint and the scientists hybridized it with Alliance technology. They're our new anti-ship energy weapons."

"Decloaking!" a technician reported.

"Stand by three," Connor ordered. "Fire!"

"Torpedo three has left the tube."

-.-

Perhaps out of overconfidence or perhaps out of recklessness, one of the trimmens had overextended itself, pushing too deep into the enemy battle line. It was trying to retreat but the rest of the pirate ships could smell blood. It was damaged and now it had to escape, which the pirate ships would not allow. The pirate ships had begun pursuit, hammering the trimmen with firepower, explosions swallowing the aft of the ship.

The Typhon emerged out of the void, streaking for the pirate ships. The already damaged pirate ship had begun to fall apart at the seams but that left the four other pirate ships. The space between was littered was dust and debris as the Typhon raced forward. A torpedo emerged from its tube, heading for the nearest pirate ship while the Typhon continued on toward another ship, opening fire with its cannons. Bolts of orange energy flew at one of the pirate ships, ramming into the shields. The pirate ship was too busy pounding away against one of the Damacan ships to notice the Typhon. And by the time it did, it was too late.

The orange bolts steadily pounded against its shield like a battering ram, a steady but heavy pounding. The shields gave way and the bolts began pounding against the hull, balls of flames swallowing the side of the ship, metal twisting from the blast. The left wing of the ship had begun twisting from the explosions, chunks blasted out of it like dynamite on the side of a tree. Finally, it snapped off. Lights across the ship flickered and died, the two pieces floating off in two directions.

As the Typhon flew closer, it became apparent how much smaller the Typhon was but its heavy weapons were far more powerful. As if perfectly timed, the torpedo fired earlier made impact, the ship behind it swallowed by a nuclear explosion. Already damaged from the battle with the Damacan ships, its shields melted away before the flames incinerated the hull, its flaming debris emerging from the black cloud and hurling through space.

-.-

"Sir, the remaining two ships are retreating."

Nova kept her eyes on the screen, watching as the remaining two battered pirate ships, witnessing their comrades destroyed, turning to retreat. Shimmering blue hyperspace windows opened up and the two ships vanished into them.

Nova knew it was impossible but, looking at all the debris, she would swear she could smell the stench of battle.

"What now?" she asked, looking as the Damacan trimmens appeared on the screen.

"Well, the Damacans aren't shooting," Corin observed.

It seemed almost strange staring at the ships that had attacked them earlier and were initially here to kill them. Now, they are just parked there.

"Colonel," Hailey spoke up. "I think the hyperdrives are up."

"Alright," Connor said. "Take us to hyperspace."

Nova watched the screens as hyperspace window formed in front of the ship, the blackness of space turned to bright blue, the Damacan ships vanishing from sight.

-.-

Chen groaned as he collapsed on the seat at the table. It had been a long day for the team so they had decided to take a break in the ship's mess. It seemed pretty empty at the moment. Even the cook was off somewhere, probably check the cargo hold. Chen laid his head on the table. Kara was sitting beside him and giggled at the sight, gently patting him on the back.

Hailey was sitting on the floor, leaning against the counter, already half asleep.

Martin and Arcturus were sitting at a table, the former fast asleep and leaning on Arcturus.

Nova and Corin sat at another table, not sleeping but certainly tired.

And Soren…was in a corner leaning against a wall.

"Why the hell is he asleep?" Chen mumbled, looking at Martin. "He's been asleep in the infirmary all day!" Chen made the motion as if he was about to get up to wake up Martin but Arcturus simply held up her hand.

"Allow me," she said calmly. Charles Martin was fast asleep on her shoulder, which was covered by a metal pauldron. Her entire suit of armor was metal in fact, including her gauntlets. She reached over, and gave her pauldron a solid flick, the clanking of two metals echoing through the room and vibrating her shoulder pad.

Martin bolted up, holding his hear, his eyes wide with shock.

"Ow," he said. He looked at Samanya for answers but she just pointed at Chen.

"Boys," Nova said before the two could have at it. Martin grumbled that had was being told to stand down before he could start anything. Nova just gave a chuckle and shook her head.

"Think you should've taken this mission off?" Nova asked Hailey, remembering she was given the option of not joining.

"Hell no," the blonde replied. "This is my baby and I wanted to see it in action."

"Well, you saw it kick the asses of three ships," Corin remarked. Hailey responded with an exaggerated sniff.

"Baby's growing up," she said in an exaggerated tone as if she was pretending to tear up.

"Well, you can relax, cuz she's bound to kick and grow more in the future."

"I believe we can all relax now," Arcturus remarked with a smile. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Everyone except Nova.

"No we can't," she muttered under her breath, Am-heh's glowing eyes flashing in her mind. "Not just yet."

-.-

Nova knew Chen told her not to do anything stupid, but she didn't have a choice. She had to know. It had been an entire day since they got back to Millennium. Charles needed an extra day's rest and everyone else was given the day off. But Nova couldn't take the day off. She had something to do.

Usually she would only go to General Mercer's office when summoned.

Not this time.

She pressed the button and the doors slid open, letting her step inside. The moment she was in, she pressed the button and the door closed behind her.

Her heart was in her throat. Every muscle was stiff as stone. This was a bad idea. But it was the only thing she could think off.

General Mercer was hard at work, writing something down. The circular office had a small window that gave him a clear view of the gate room. Nova walked over to that window, reached over, and slowly pulled the curtains shut.

"Major," Mercer said. "May I ask what you're doing."

Nova looked at Mercer. It was only now that he stopped writing. He gave a pause before setting down his pen and looking up, folding his hands in front of him on his desk.

She had made it this far. She might as well follow through.

There was a click as Nova reached into her back pocket and drew out a nine-millimeter, aiming it at the General.

"General," Nova said in a shaky voice. "I think you have explaining to do."

 **A/N: Hey guys. This story came out of a very busy schedule so I hope you enjoy it. There will be revelations about everything. The truth has been hinted at in several of the previous stories. I wonder if you can put it together.**

 **Something I always regretted doing was that the firefights in past stories were very...run'n gun-ish. I wish I implemented more tactics to them, something that would say that you don't just sit there and shoot back.**

 **The Typhon's design was meant to be different than the expected continuation of the Tau'ri fleet. I wanted more than just bigger everything. The Typhon is the glass cannon of the fleet. Supposedly it can single handedly take on every ship the Tau'ri has ever encountered but it is very fragile and can't withstand the same beatings. Also, I'm hoping to eventually incorporate tactics into space combat and the fragile and stealth-based nature of the Typhon will allow me to do that.**

 **Anyways, please review, tell me what you think, and enjoy.**


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